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The little dog scratched a hole in the ground and buried her 
clothes. Frontispiece. See page 277. 







TALES OF WONDER AND MAGIC 


Sg iKatlfarinr JJylf 

The Christmas Angel 
As the Goose Flies 
Nancy Rutledge 
In the Green Forest 

# 

Wonder Tales Retold 
Tales of Folk and Fairies 
Tales of Wonder and Magic 




TALES OF WONDER 
AND MAGIC 

WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED 


KATHERINE PYLE 

it 


inonreferYI 



mWvAb-als 


BOSTON 

LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 
1920 










■c 


Copyright , 1920, 

By Littl*, Brown, and Company. 


All rights reserved 


Published October, 1920 



Norfooob 

Set up and electrotyped by J. S. Cushing Co. 
Norwood, Mass., U. S. A. 

OCT 30 1920 


©CU601200 


7 * 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

White as Snow, Red as Blood, and Black 
as a Raven’s Wing . . An Irish Story i 

The Wonderful Ring An East Indian Story 29 
The Three Sisters ... A Georgian Tale 59 

The Golden Horse, the Moon Lantern, and 
the Beautiful Princess A Swedish Tale 83 

The Lady of the Lake . . A Welsh Tale in 

The Beaver Stick 

An American Indian Story 125 

The Enchanted Waterfall 

A Japanese Story 149 

Fair, Brown, and Trembling An Irish Tale 160 

The Demon of the Mountain 

A Transylvanian Gipsy Tale 180 

The Lamia. A Hindoo Tale 190 

The Three Doves . ... A Czech Tale 207 

Mighty-Arm and Mighty-Mouth 

An East Indian Story 249 


v 



CONTENTS 


PAGE 

The Beautiful Melissa A Louisiana Tale 261 

The Castle That Stood on Golden 
Pillars . . Adapted from a Danish Story 274 

The Twelve Months . . A Czech Story 296 


vi 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


The little dog scratched a hole in the ground 
and buried her clothes . . . Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Jack kept on beating her till the rod broke 
over her shoulders.28 

“Now! Now!” he cried. “See who will be 
the first to gather them” .... 62 

The lad looked from one to another of them, 
and he did not know which to claim as his 


The little cowherd was terribly frightened . 174 

The Queen was a lamia, even as the jogi had 
guessed ....... 201 

He lifted one of the goblets and held it up . 223 

“I do not believe it is a sheep at all, but a 
goblin who has taken this shape” . - 254 



































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TALES OF WONDER 
AND MAGIC 


WHITE AS SNOW, RED AS BLOOD, AND 
BLACK AS A RAVEN’S WING 

An Irish Story 

The King and Queen of Ireland had one dear 
son and his name was Jack, and he was always 
out hunting, in fair weather or foul. One day 
he set out, and the world was white with snow. 
He walked on and on, but nothing could he 
see to shoot until toward evening he saw a 
great black raven. 

“That’s not much in the way of game,” 
said Jack to himself, “but all ravens are rob¬ 
bers, and better out of the world than in it.” 
So he drew his bow and shot, and the raven fell 
down dead on the snow, and the blood ran out 
of it. 

Jack stood and looked at it. “Those are 

i 


WHITE AS SNOW, RED AS BLOOD 

pretty colors,” he said. “ White and red and 
black ! Never will I marry until I find a maiden 
as white as snow and as red as blood and with 
hair as black as a raven’s wing.” 

When he went home, he said to his father, 
“ Father, I am thinking of getting married.” 

“That is a good hearing,” said the King. 
“You are old enough, and I would like to hold 
a child of yours on my knee before I die.” 

“But,” said his mother, “who is it you are 
thinking of marrying ?” 

“I do not know as yet,” said Jack, “but 
this one thing I do know: she must be as white 
as snow, as red as blood, and with hair as black 
as a raven’s wing.” 

“Then you will never find her,” said the 
Queen. 

“That is as it may be, but I am going to set 
out into the world to seek her, and unless I 
can find such a one, I will never marry at all.” 

The King and Queen were sorry when they 
heard that. They tried to persuade him to 
think of this girl or that or the other, whom 
they knew of, each one of them a beauty, but 
for all the praises they gave them Jack had no 


2 


AN IRISH STORY 


wish for any one of them; not one of them was 
as white as snow and as red as blood and as 
black as a raven’s wing. 

“ Very well,” said the King at last; “you ’re 
a willful fellow. Go if you must, and when you 
return we ’ll talk of this further.” 

He then gave Jack a hundred golden guineas 
to line his pockets, and sent him forth with 
his blessing. 

Jack walked along and walked along, and 
after a while he came to a miserable poor hut, 
and in the doorway sat an old woman weep¬ 
ing. Jack felt sorry for her, and he stopped 
and began to question her. 

“What ails you, mother,” he asked, “that 
you weep so bitterly ?” 

“I am weeping because my son is dead, 
and I have not enough to give him a Christian 
burial,” answered the old woman. 

“That is a sad story,” said Jack. “And how 
much would it take to give him a Christian 
burial ?” 

“It would cost a hundred guineas, no more, 
no less.” 

“That is exactly how much I have,” said 

3 


WHITE AS SNOW, RED AS BLOOD 

Jack. “Take it, in Heaven’s name,” and he 
gave the woman the hundred guineas his father 
had given him. After that he walked along all 
the more lightly because his pockets were 
empty. 

He had not gone far when he came to a cross 
road, and there was a little old red man sitting 
on a stone. 

“Good-day, King’s son,” said the little old 
man. 

“Good-day,” answered Jack; “though I do 
not know you, nor how you happen to know me.” 

“Oh, I know that and more,” answered the 
little old man. “I know that you are journey¬ 
ing out into the world in search of a bride, and 
that you will have no one unless she be as white 
as snow and as red as blood and has hair as 
black as a crow’s wing.” 

“Then since you ’re so wise, maybe you can 
tell me whether there is such a girl in the wide 
world, and where I can find her,” said Jack. 

“There is such a one, and she is the Princess 
of the East, and she lives far enough from here, 
but if you ’ll take me as a servant, I ’ll show 
you where to go to seek her.” 

4 


AN IRISH STORY 


Jack was very willing to take him as a ser¬ 
vant, and the only trouble about that was that he 
had no money to pay him wages. Just a little 
while ago he had given away every bit of it. 

But that mattered little, the small red man 
said. He would just as lief serve without 
wages as with them. 

So the little man slipped down from the 
stone and went along the road with Jack. 

After they had traveled a short way and a 
long way, they came to a dark gloomy castle, 
and the little old red man asked Jack whether 
he knew what place it was. 

“I do not,” answered Jack, “but I Ve seen 
places I liked better.” 

“This is the castle of the giant who owns the 
Cloak of Darkness,” said the little old red man. 

“Then I ’ll be journeying farther,” said 
Jack, “for I Ve heard of that giant. A very 
fierce and terrible creature he is, and I have no 
wish to meet him.” 

But the little old man would not hear of 
this. “If we are to win the Princess, we must 
have that Cloak of Darkness,” said he, “and 
here and now is our chance to get it.” And 
S 


WHITE AS SNOW, RED AS BLOOD 

without more ado he lifted the knocker and 
thundered on the door. 

At once the door opened and there stood 
the giant of the Cloak of Darkness, and he 
was indeed a terrible creature to look upon. 

“Who are you who venture here, and what 
seek you at my castle ?” bellowed the giant. 

Jack trembled in his boots at the bellowing, 
but the small man seemed no whit afraid. He 
spoke up to the giant as boldly as though he 
had been twice the giant’s size. 

“We are two travelers, and we have stopped 
here because we are in need of supper, and a 
bed to sleep on,” said he. 

When the giant heard this he laughed a great 
terrible laugh. “Then you are like me,” he 
said. “I too am in need of supper and a bed. 
Your flesh shall be my supper, and your bones 
the bed I lie on.” 

“I’m none too sure of that, but come on and 
we ’ll see which is the better man,” said the 
red servant. So the little old man drew his 
sword, and it was a very short sword indeed; 
and the giant drew his sword, and it was a 
great long one, as long as a tall tree is. Then 
6 


AN IRISH STORY 


began a battle between them, and it would have 
seemed as though the little red man would have 
no chance at all against the giant, but every 
time the giant struck at him the small one 
jumped aside so that the sword never even 
touched him; but every time the little man 
struck at the giant his sword grew longer and 
longer, and at last it stretched and grew until 
it reached all the way up to the giant’s breast. 
Then the little man thrust with it, and thrust 
right through the giant’s heart, so that he fell 
down dead. 

After that Jack and the little red servant 
entered into the castle and ate and rested 
there for the night, and before they set out the 
next morning the red one hunted around until 
he found the Cloak of Darkness, and he rolled 
it up into a small bundle and carried it along 
with him. “For,” said he, “as I told you, we 
will need it later if we are to win that Princess 
of the East.” 

Well, they trudged along and trudged along 
a short way and a long way until they came 
to another castle, and it was larger and darker 
and gloomier even than the other. 

7 


WHITE AS SNOW, RED AS BLOOD 

“Do you know who lives here?” asked the 
little servant. 

“I do not,” answered Jack, “but I do not 
like the looks of it.” 

“It belongs to the giant with the Purse of 
Plenty,” said the red man. 

“Then I, for one, will push on farther,” 
said Jack. “I ’ve heard of that giant, and that 
he is twice as terrible as the other, and I have 
no wish to meet him.” 

“All the same we ’ll not push on farther, but 
will spend the night here,” said the small 
servant. “We have need of that same Purse 
of Plenty, and I mean to have it, giant or no 
giant ” ; and with that he struck upon the door 
so loudly and fiercely that it might have been 
the giant himself knocking. Jack was in a 
terrible fright, but the wee man showed no fear 
whatsoever. 

Scarce had he finished knocking when the 
door opened and a giant stepped out of it, 
and if the other giant was terrible to look 
at, this one was twice as much so, for he had 
two heads to stare at instead of one. 

“Who are you who come knocking at my 
8 


AN IRISH STORY 

door,” cried the giant, “and what do you wish 
of me ?” 

“We are two poor travelers,” answered the 
servant, “and what we wish for is supper and 
a bed to sleep on.” 

“That is what I am wanting myself,” said the 
giant, “and by your leave I ’ll have it. You 
shall be my supper, and your bones the soft 
bed I lie on.” 

“That may or may not be,” said the small 
man. “Now draw your sword and let us see 
which of us will sup to-night.” 

When the giant heard that he laughed 
aloud, and drew his sword, and struck at the 
little red man, intending to cut him in two as 
he might a cockchafer. But the little red 
man jumped aside nimbly, so that the sword- 
blow never touched him. 

Then he himself drew his sword, and now it 
had two blades, and it grew longer and longer 
and longer until it reached all the way up to 
the giant’s neck. Then with one blow he cut 
off both the creature’s heads at once, and that 
so neatly that they seemed to skip from his 
shoulders of themselves. 


9 


WHITE AS SNOW, RED AS BLOOD 

After that Jack and the little red man entered 
into the giant’s palace and hunted around and 
found all sorts of good things to eat and drink, 
and they feasted to their hearts’ content, and 
then went to bed and slept quietly. 

The next day, before they set out, the small 
servant searched the rooms until he found the 
Purse of Plenty, and then he slipped it into his 
pocket. “It will come in handy later on,” 
said he to his master. 

Well, they traveled on again and they traveled 
on again until at last they came to another 
castle, and it was higher and darker and gloomier 
than either of the others. “And by the same 
token, whoever lives here must be twice as 
fierce and terrible as either of the other giants,” 
said Jack. 

“You are right about that,” answered the 
little red man, “for he who lives in this castle 
is the giant of the Sword of Light.” 

“Yes, I have heard of that giant,” said Jack, 
“and I ’ll be traveling on, for I have no wish 
to stay in his neighborhood, so fearsome he 
is.” 

“No, but wait a bit,” said the small servant. 


AN IRISH STORY 


“That Sword of Light is exactly the thing we 
must have if we are to win the lovely Princess, 
and I mean to get it from the giant.” 

With that, and before Jack could stop him, he 
seized hold of the knocker and thundered on 
the door so that Jack was well-nigh deafened. 

At once the door was thrown open and the 
giant of the Sword of Light came out, and he 
was a terrible one to look upon, I can tell you. 

He had three heads on his shoulders, and his 
eyes were like balls of fire, and his hair as stiff 
as pokers. “Who are ye who venture here 
so boldly, and what seek ye at my castle?” 
roared the giant. 

“Oh, we are just two humble travelers,” 
answered the little red man, “and we come here 
seeking a bite of supper and a soft bed to 
sleep on.” 

When the giant heard that he roared with 
laughter so that the castle shook with the 
sound of it. “I’m in need of a supper and a 
bed to sleep on myself,” cried he. “You shall 
be my supper, and your bones my bed to sleep 
on.” With that he drew the Sword of Light 
from its scabbard, and that sword is so bright 


ii 


WHITE AS SNOW, RED AS BLOOD 

that whenever it is drawn its light flashes all 
the way around the world, and it is so sharp 
that nothing on earth can stand against it. 

And now it would have gone hard with the 
small red servant if he had not had the Cloak 
of Darkness, but he quickly wrapped it around 
him, and at once he disappeared from view. 
The giant struck about him right and left with 
the Sword of Light, but he never touched the 
small red servant for he could not see him. 
As for the small man, he jumped about this 
way and that, all the time keeping out of 
the way of the giant, and then presently, as 
soon as he had time, he drew his own sword, 
and in less than a second he had driven it 
through the giant’s heart so that the creature 
fell down dead and stirred no more. 

“That is a good riddance,” said the small 
man; “and now we will spend the night here.” 
With that he rolled up the Cloak of Darkness 
again, and took the Sword of Light and slipped 
it in its scabbard, and he and Jack went on 
into the castle and spent the night very pleas¬ 
antly, eating and drinking and sleeping. 

The next morning, before they set out, the 
12 


AN IRISH STORY 


red servant went out to the giant’s stable and 
took the two handsomest steeds that were 
there, and fine horses they were, I can tell you. 
They were shod with gold, and they were fleeter 
than wind, for when they went the wind itself 
was left behind, and they thought nothing of 
leaping over a high mountain in three bounds. 
Jack and the small man rode the horses to a 
smithy near by, and had them shod with gold, 
and the servant paid for the shoeing from the 
Purse of Plenty. Then they set out, and it 
was no time at all before they came to the 
palace where the Princess of the East lived. 

Jack began looking about for a gate to enter 
by, but the servant said, “Not so. Over the 
wall is the way for us to enter.” 

The wall was thirty feet high and had spikes 
on top of it a yard long, but Jack and the small 
man had only to lift their bridles, and their 
horses flew over it as though they were birds. 
A great crowd of soldiers and attendants came 
running out from the castle to see what manner 
of strangers these were who had flown over 
the wall in this marvelous way, and who rode 
horses shod with gold. 


13 


WHITE AS SNOW, RED AS BLOOD 


Then the little red servant took out the 
Purse of Plenty, and scattered money about 
by handfuls, and not silver money, either, but 
good red gold. He scattered so much that there 
was a pocketful for every one who cared to 
gather it, and not a soul there — not even the 
fine courtiers themselves — scorned to do this. 

It was not long before the news of this stranger 
who flew over walls and scattered gold like 
water was brought to the Princess, and down 
she came from the castle to have a look at him. 

“Who are you, and whence come you, and 
what is the desire that brings you hither ?” 
asked she of Jack. 

“I am a King’s son, and I come from far 
away,” he answered, “and it is my wish to 
court you and win you for a wife that has 
brought me here.” 

“Well, any one who chooses has leave to court 
me,” said the Princess, “but before you begin 
I will have to tell you something. Whenever 
any one comes for that purpose, I set him three 
tasks. He who can do these tasks shall have 
me for a bride, but whosoever fails shall have 
his head cut from his shoulders. Now that 


14 


AN IRISH STORY 

you have heard this, do you still wish to 
court me ?” 

“I do/’ answered Jack. 

“Very well! then we ’ll say no more about it 
at present,” said the Princess. 

She then ordered a grand fine feast to be 
prepared, and when it was ready she and Jack 
went in to it and sat on two fine grand thrones 
at the head of the table, and there were all 
sorts of good things to eat, and music to listen 
to, but Jack ate little and listened less, he was 
so busy all the time looking at the Princess ; and 
the more he looked at her the more he liked her. 

After the feast was over the Princess took Jack 
out to see her rose garden, and on every rose¬ 
bush there was a head. “Do you know how 
many rosebushes there are in this garden, 
Jack ?” she asked of him. 

“I do not,” answered the Prince. 

“Then I will tell you. There are three 
hundred and sixty-five rosebushes. On each 
of three hundred and sixty-four rosebushes 
there is a head, and they are the heads of the 
lads who came to court me, and who failed to 
perform the tasks I set them. On one rosebush 
IS 


WHITE AS SNOW, RED AS BLOOD 


alone there is no head, and I hope to see yours 
flowering there before long, Jack,” she said. 

“ And that’s a hope I don’t share with 
you,” answered Jack; and his heart quaked 
within him. All the same, he had no thought of 
giving up trying for the Princess. 

That evening there was another fine feast, 
and the Princess ate well, and was very merry. 
Just before supper was ended she took a beau¬ 
tiful gold comb from her hair and showed it 
to the lad. 

“Do you see this comb, Jack ?” 

Yes, he saw it. 

“Then I will tell you what your first task 
shall be. To-night I am going out from the 
palace, and I ’ll be wearing this comb. I will 
be neither on the earth, nor in the sea, nor yet 
in the air, but what you must do is to get this 
comb out of my hair somehow, and this you 
must do between midnight and cockcrow. 
Moreover, you must have it ready to give back 
to me in the morning.” Then she said good 
night to Jack and left him. 

Jack went out in the garden to walk about a 
bit, and his heart was heavy within him, for 
16 


AN IRISH STORY 


he did not know how he was to get the comb 
from the Princess, and every time he saw a 
rosebush his heart sank lower. 

Presently the little old red man came out 
and joined him. “What ails you that you are 
so down in the mouth ?” he asked. “What was 
it the Princess said to you at supper ?” 

Jack told him of the task the Princess had 
set him. “And how I’m to get the comb I ’m 
sure I can’t think,” said he, “and as far as I 
can see, I’m like to lose my head over this 
business.” 

“It may not turn out as badly as you fear,” 
said the small servant. “Leave it all to me, 
and I will have the comb for you in the morning. 
All you have to do is to go to bed and sleep.” 

Then the little red man went in and put on 
the Cloak of Darkness, and went and stood be¬ 
side the Princess’ door. 

Just on the stroke of twelve the Princess 
came out of the door wrapped in a long, dark 
cloak, and with the comb shining in her hair. 
She stole down the stairway and the little red 
man kept close behind her step for step, but 
this she did not know because she could not 
17 


WHITE AS SNOW, RED AS BLOOD 

see him. She went out into the courtyard at 
the back of the castle and stood on a great 
square slab of stone, and the little servant 
stood on the slab beside her. The Princess 
stamped three times, and the third time she 
stamped the stone sank down and down with 
the two of them on it until it came to the 
lower regions under the earth, to the land of 
the Demons, and there was the King of the 
Demons waiting for the Princess. She stepped 
from the stone, as did also the little red man, 
and the stone returned to its place. 

The Demon made the Princess welcome, and 
they sat down side by side and chatted together, 
and she told him that another lad had come to 
court her, and that by the next evening the last 
rosebush in her garden would have a head on 
it, and they made merry over the thought of it. 

Just before morning the Princess rose to go, 
and then the little man slipped the comb 
from her head without her knowing it, and 
followed close after her up a back way and into 
the palace. Then the Princess returned to her 
chamber and the little man to his, and he was 
greatly pleased over his night’s work. 

18 


AN IRISH STORY 


The next morning Jack and the Princess had 
breakfast together, and the Princess's look was 
troubled, for she had missed her comb by that 
time, and did not know what had become of it. 

“Well,” said she to Jack, “and how about 
the task I set you ? Have you the comb to 
give me ?” 

“Oh, yes, I have it,” said Jack; “and you ’ll 
have to set me a harder task than that if my 
head is to grow on the rosebush.” And with 
that he handed her the comb. 

The Princess wondered, but she thought 
it had somehow slipped from her hair without 
her knowing it, and that he had found it. 

“You’re a clever lad, Jack,” she said. 
“ But you ’ll have to be more clever than that 
to-night if you ’re to keep your head on your 
shoulders.” Then she went on talking with 
him pleasantly. 

That evening there was another fine feast, 
and Jack and the Princess sat and ate together. 
Just before they finished the Princess said, 
“Now I will tell you what your second task 
shall be. Do you see this diamond ring on my 
finger?” 


19 


WHITE AS SNOW, RED AS BLOOD 


“Yes, I see it.” 

“To-night I ’ll go out from the palace be¬ 
tween midnight and cockcrow, and I ’ll be 
neither on the earth nor in the sea nor sky, and 
your task shall be to get the ring from my 
finger in that time, and have it for me in the 
morning.” 

Then the Princess said good night and left 
him, and Jack went out into the garden to walk 
about, for his heart was troubled within him. 
The little red man came to him and tried to 
cheer him up a bit, and asked what the Princess 
had said to him. 

“Oh, she said I must get the diamond ring 
from her finger between midnight and cockcrow, 
and how I am to do it I have no notion, and I 
can tell you my head feels loose on my 
shoulders.” 

“Maybe it’s tighter than you think,” said 
the red man. “I think I can manage this matter 
for you. Do you go to bed and sleep, and I 
will have the ring for you in the morning.” 

Jack felt a bit comforted when he heard this 
and went back to the castle and to bed, but the 
small servant put on the Cloak of Darkness 


20 


AN IRISH STORY 


and hid himself beside the door of the Princess’ 
chamber as before. 

Presently, just on the stroke of midnight, 
out came the Princess. She hastened down the 
staircase with the small man close behind 
her, and into the courtyard. There she stepped 
on the square stone as before and stamped 
three times, and when the stone sank down to 
the lower regions, you may believe the small 
servant was close beside her. 

The Demon was waiting for the Princess, 
and he took her hand and kissed her, and 
then they sat down side by side and talked 
together lovingly. 

“The lad had the comb for me this morning,” 
she said, “ and somehow I must have dropped it; 
so that is one task he has done, but to-morrow 
morning he is to have the diamond ring from 
off my finger to give me, and that will not be 
so easy.” Then she leaned her head on the 
Demon’s shoulder, and he put his arm around 
her, and her hand hung down over the arm of 
her chair. The ring was loose on her finger, 
and while she was listening to the Demon 
the small man slipped the ring from her finger 
21 


WHITE AS SNOW, RED AS BLOOD 

without her noticing it, and hid it under the 
Cloak of Darkness. 

Presently the Princess got up to go, and then 
she noticed the ring was gone from her finger, 
and she was in a terrible fright. “My ring! 
My ring! ,, she cried. “It is gone from my 
finger. I must have lost it since I came here, 
for I had it when I left my chamber.” 

She and the Demon hunted everywhere for 
it, but they could not find it, for the small 
man had it in his hand under the Cloak of 
Darkness. Then, as it was almost cockcrow, 
the Princess had to go, and the small man 
followed close behind her back to the upper 
regions and into the castle. 

The next morning Jack and the Princess had 
breakfast together, and Jack was the merry 
one, but the Princess had scarce a word to say 
for herself. At last she asked him whether 
he had the ring for her. 

“Oh, yes,” said Jack, “I have it. You must 
set me a harder task than that if my head is to 
flower on the rosebush!” And then he laid 
the ring before her on the table. 

When the Princess saw the ring she began to 


22 


AN IRISH STORY 


tremble, but presently she put on a smile. 
“ Well, you ’re a cleverer lad than I thought you, 
Jack,” said she; “but the third task is still be¬ 
fore you, and I may still have your head in the 
rose gardenand then she got up and left him. 

That evening she and Jack had supper 
together, and the Princess said, “Now I will 
tell you what the third task is. To-night I 
will be out from the castle, and I ’ll be neither 
on the earth nor in the sea nor yet will I be 
in the air, and you must cut off the fingers that 
hold me between midnight and cockcrow, and 
there’s no mortal sword that can do that cutting.” 
Then she went away to her chamber. 

Jack was troubled, but he thought here too 
the little red man might help him, and he went 
out in the garden to wait till the servant could 
come to him. Presently he came. “Well, 
what is it this time ?” he asked. “What is 
this third task the Princess has set you ?” 

“Oh, it is a hard one, and there’s no mistake 
about that, and unless you can help me, I ’ll 
be losing my head after all.” 

“And what is this task?” asked the small 
red servant. 


23 


WHITE AS SNOW, RED AS BLOOD 

Jack told him. 

“Well, there’s no doubt but what this is a 
harder task than the others, but still I have 
done harder things than that. Go to bed and 
sleep quietly, and to-morrow you may have a 
Princess promised to you as a wife.” 

Jack went to bed and slept as the small man 
bade him, but the small man himself kept watch 
at the door of the Princess’s chamber as before, 
with the Cloak of Darkness wrapped about 
him, but this time he carried with him the 
Sword of Light hidden under the cloak. 

Just before midnight the Princess came forth, 
and the red servant could see she was all of a 
tremble. She hurried down and took her place 
on the stone, and the small man was beside 
her. She stamped three times and down they 
sank to where the Demon was waiting for 
her. 

The Demon kissed her, and they sat down 
together, and he asked her what was the task 
she had set for the lad. When she told him 
the task was to cut off the fingers that held 
her, the Demon liked it none too well. 

“You might have left me out of this business,” 
24 


AN IRISH STORY 


said he, “for I can tell you I don’t like the way 
it is going. Still I suppose I am safe enough, for 
as you know there’s not a mortal sword that 
can cut or hew me.” 

They talked for a while longer, and then the 
Princess stood up to go, but just as the Demon 
took hold of the Princess to kiss her, the little 
red man flashed out his Sword of Light and 
cut off the Demon’s fingers. Then how the 
Princess screamed! and she could not tell 
how it had happened, either, for she could see 
no one in the room with them. As for the 
Demon, he was bawling and stamping and 
hunting about for his fingers, but he could not 
find them, for the little red servant had picked 
them up and hidden them under the Cloak of 
Darkness. The Princess was obliged to go 
back to the palace, and she could not even 
stay to help him hunt for them, for it was near 
morning and the cocks were crowing. 

When it was day and Jack had awakened, the 
little servant brought him a silver napkin, 
and in it were wrapped the Demon’s fingers. 
“Take this to the Princess,” he said, “and 
claim her for your bride, and she cannot say 
25 


WHITE AS SNOW, RED AS BLOOD 

no to you now, for this is the last of the tasks 
she was to set you.” 

The lad took the napkin, and his heart was 
as light as a feather within him. 

As for the Princess, she was sad and heavy 
when she met the lad at breakfast. “Well,” 
said she, “have you done the task I set you ?” 

“Yes,” answered Jack, “I have, and here is 
what you asked for;” and he unrolled the 
napkin before her. 

When the Princess saw the fingers in the 
napkin, she screamed aloud with rage and terror, 
and she would have liked to tear the lad’s eyes 
out. But alLthe same she had given her promise 
to marry him, and marry him she must. A 
grand feast was prepared, finer than any of the 
others, and Jack and the Princess sat together 
side by side, and when he took her hand in his, 
she still did not forgive him, and Jack was not 
quite easy in his heart. 

The feast lasted for three days, and after 
it was over Jack and the Princess were married. 
And you might have thought that was the end 
of it and that Jack and the Princess would live 
happy forever after, but not so. 

26 


AN IRISH STORY 


As soon as he had a chance, the little man 
drew Jack aside into a room where none could 
overhear them, and in his hand he had seven 
stout rods made of blackthorn. 

“Jack/’ said the little man, “do you know 
who I am ?” 

“No,” said Jack, “I haven't a notion except 
that you have made yourself my servant and 
helped me out of a pretty pickle.” 

“Then I will tell you,” said the red man. 
“ I am the spirit of the man for whom you paid 
a hundred guineas to give him a Christian 
burial. That was a good deed and you have 
had your reward, and now I must leave you. 
But before I go I will give you a bit of advice. 
Take these rods of blackthorn and break 
them over your wife's shoulders, one each 
night for seven nights. If you do this, you 
will live happy forever after; but if you fail 
to- do it, you will rue it bitterly.” 

Jack took the rods and promised to do as the 
servant bade him, and then the small man 
vanished, and what became of him Jack did 
not know unless he had gone on to Paradise. 

That very night, when Jack and the Princess 
27 


WHITE AS SNOW, RED AS BLOOD 

went into their chamber, Jack locked the door, 
and then he took out a rod from behind him 
and began to beat the Princess. The Princess 
cried and wept and begged and entreated him 
to give over, but Jack kept on beating her till 
the rod broke over her shoulders, and just as 
it broke a smoke came out of the Princess’s 
nostrils, and that smoke was one seventh of 
the Demon’s wickedness going out of her. 

The next night Jack broke a second rod over 
her shoulders, and another seventh of the 
wickedness went out of her. So it was, night 
after night. Every night he beat her, and 
every night another part of the wickedness 
went out of her, and on the seventh night the 
very last of it was driven out, and the Princess 
was herself again. 

Then she threw herself into Jack’s arms and 
kissed him and vowed she would be a good and 
faithful wife to him, and Jack never had cause 
to lift a finger against her again, but they lived 
together in mutual love and happiness forever 
after. 


28 



Jack kept on beating her till the rod broke over her 
shoulders. Page 28. 









THE WONDERFUL RING 
An East Indian Story 

There was once a king who had two sons. 
The elder was a very stingy Prince; he would 
neither give nor lend to any one. The younger, 
on the contrary, was a waster who could never 
say no to any one, and spent all he had without 
ever taking thought of the morrow. 

In time the old King died, leaving every¬ 
thing he had to his sons without making any 
division between them. 

The elder was very much dissatisfied with 
this arrangement. “Come,” said he to his 
brother, “let us divide between us what our 
father left. Then you can squander your 
share as you please, but I intend to save mine, 
for I have no idea of being brought to poverty.” 

The younger brother readily agreed to this. 
They divided the inheritance between them, 
29 


THE WONDERFUL RING 


but somehow, in the division, the elder one 
seemed to get the best of everything. The 
younger did not quarrel over that, however. 

After that they separated, and each one lived 
his own life as he wished. The elder saved and 
hoarded as was his nature, and grew richer every 
day, but the younger spent with a free hand, 
and denied neither himself nor his friends any¬ 
thing. 

After a while the younger Prince had spent 
all he had, and then he journeyed to the palace 
where his elder brother lived to ask help of him. 

The older Prince was but ill-pleased to see 
him. “So you have already wasted all your 
money,” said he. “I knew it would be so. 
This one time I will help you because you are 
the son of our father, but in return you must 
promise you will never come here again to trouble 
me. 

The young Prince was obliged to agree to 
this, and the elder then gave him four pieces 
of golden money, no more, no less. With this 
the young Prince was obliged to be content, 
though it was little enough to live on. He went 
away from his brother’s palace, and he had not 
30 


AN EAST INDIAN STORY 


journeyed far when he met a man carrying 
a cat, and the cat was so thin and miserable 
looking that it was pitiful. 

“Is your cat for sale ?” asked the Prince. 

“Yes, it is,” answered the man. 

“And what is the price of it ?” 

“I can only sell it for gold, for it is a very 
fine cat.” 

“Very well,” said the Prince, “I will buy 
it;” and he paid the man one of the pieces of 
money his brother had given him. 

He went on a little farther and he met a man 
with a dog, and the dog was no less miserable 
looking than the cat. The Prince felt pity for it. 

“Is your dog for sale ?” he asked. 

“Yes, I will sell it.” 

“How much do you ask for it ?” 

“I will sell it for a piece of gold money.” 

The Prince gave the man a second of his 
pieces of money and took the dog in exchange. 

A little while after he saw a merchant with a 
parrot, and then a faker with a snake, and both 
of these creatures he also bought because he 
thought they looked as though they were ill- 
treated, and now all his money was gone. 

3i 


THE WONDERFUL RING 


“My poor friends,” said the Prince, “I had 
meant to do you a good turn by buying you, but 
now I have no food for either myself or you. 
It seems you are worse off than ever.” 

“Do not let that trouble you, dear Prince,” 
said the snake. “My father, who lives over in 
the jungle beyond the city, is the king and ruler 
over all the serpents. He is very rich and 
powerful. Let us go to him, and he will gladly 
reward you for saving me from the faker, for he 
was a very cruel man.” 

This advice sounded good to the Prince. He 
at once set out into the jungle, and the snake 
directed him which way to go. The dog and 
cat followed close behind, and the parrot flut¬ 
tered from branch to branch overhead. 

After traveling for some time, the Prince 
and his companions came to a great heap of 
ruins, and here the snake bade them pause: 
“This is where my father lives,” said he. “Do 
you wait here while I go forward and prepare 
him for your visit. If you came upon him sud¬ 
denly, he might strike you before I had time 
to tell him who you were, and you might die.” 

“Very well,” said the Prince. “Do you go, 
32 


AN EAST INDIAN STORY 

and I and the others will wait here until you 
return.” 

The snake at once slipped away among the 
ruins, and it was not long before he returned. 
[_“My father will now see you,” he said. “He 
is very grateful to you for saving me from the 
faker, and will offer to reward you with all sorts 
of treasures, but you must refuse them. Ask 
him for the little old ring he wears, and take 
nothing else, for it is worth more than all the 
rest of his riches put together.” 

The Prince promised to do as the snake bade 
him, and then followed it through the ruins 
until they came to the large gilded and painted 
chamber where the Serpent King lived. This 
Serpent King was of enormous size, and wore 
a golden crown upon his head. 

After he had heard his son’s story he made 
the Prince welcome, and began to thank him 
for what he had done for his son. “You have 
saved him from a miserable life,” said he. 
“I am not ungrateful, and I intend to reward 
you. In my treasure chamber are riches be¬ 
yond all dreaming. Take as much of them as 
you choose. I grudge you nothing, and there 
33 


THE WONDERFUL RING 


is nothing you can ask of me that I will not 
give you.” 

“I thank you,” answered the Prince, “but 
I have no need of treasures, and it was from pity 
I bought your son, and not for a reward.” 

“Nevertheless, I wish to show my gratitude,” 
said the Serpent King. “I beg of you to help 
yourself to my treasures, — gold or jewels, I 
care not how much you take.” 

Again the Prince refused. “Indeed, I am 
in need of nothing.” 

Then for the third time the Serpent King 
urged him to accept some reward. 

“Very well,” said the Prince at last, “I see 
you will not be content unless I take some¬ 
thing from you, so give me the little old ring 
you wear, as a token of friendship between us.” 

When the Serpent King heard this he was 
furious, and hissed so loudly that the Prince 
trembled with fear. “Who has told you to 
ask for the Ring of Fortune?” he cried. “All 
the rest of my treasures are as nothing beside 
this, and if I had not promised you whatever 
you might ask for, you should never have it.” 

However, the Serpent had given his word, 

34 


AN EAST INDIAN STORY 

and he was obliged to let the Prince have the 
ring. 

The Prince slipped it on his finger, and then 
he hastened away from the ruins, for he was 
afraid of what the Serpent King might do to 
him. 

No sooner was he safely out of the jungle 
than he said to the snake, “This is a very foolish 
thing you have made me do. I might have 
had enough treasure to make me rich for life, 
and now I have nothing but this little old ring 
that appears to be made of very common metal 
and quite worthless.” 

“Do not judge so quickly,” replied the snake, 
“for that ring has very wonderful powers. It 
is able to give you whatever you may ask for. 
Now do as I tell you, and you will soon see the 
wisdom of your choice. Make a clean square 
place on the ground and plaster it over as one 
does in making a holy place. Lay the ring in 
the center of it and sprinkle it with sour milk. 
Then ask for anything you may wish, and it will 
be yours.” 

“This is a very strange story,” said the Prince, 
“and I can hardly believe it.” Still he made a 
35 


THE WONDERFUL RING 


holy place as the snake directed him and laid 
the ring in the center of it and sprinkled it with 
sour milk. Then, as he was very hungry, he 
said, “I wish for all sorts of good things to eat 
and drink. ,, 

At once a feast appeared before him. The 
food was of the most delicious kind, the dishes 
were of gold, and richly carved, and there were 
napkins of the finest linen fringed and embroid¬ 
ered with silver. The Prince could hardly 
express his wonder and admiration. 

“ You were indeed right,” said he to the snake. 
“Not the greatest king in all the world possesses 
a treasure as great as this ring.” 

He then ate and drank to his heart’s content, 
sharing everything with his three companions. 

After they had made an end of eating, the 
dishes disappeared, and the Prince put the 
ring upon his finger and he and his companions 
journeyed on again. 

He had no wish to return to the city where 
his brother lived, so they traveled in an opposite 
direction, and after a while they came to a 
strange country bordering on the seashore and 
ruled over by a very great and powerful King. 
36 


AN EAST INDIAN STORY 


This King had one beautiful daughter, and 
she was so lovely that there was not her like 
in all the world. Many princes and great 
rulers had sought her in marriage, but the King 
had declared that no one should have her but he 
who was able to build a golden palace in the sea 
in one night. Whoever could do this should 
not only receive the Princess in marriage, but 
one half of the kingdom as well; but whoever 
failed in the task should have his head cut off. 

Many had tried, but none had succeeded, 
and the King had made a necklace of the heads 
of those who failed, and had hung it beside the 
castle gate as a warning to all rash adventurers. 

But the young Prince was not at all frightened 
by the sight of these heads. He knocked 
boldly at the palace gates and asked to speak 
with the King. At once the guards brought 
him before their master, and the Prince said he 
had come to build the golden palace for the 
King, and that he wished to set about the matter 
that very night. 

“Rash youth,” said the King, “have you 
not seen the necklace of heads that hangs 
beside the gateway ? Do you value your life 
37 


THE WONDERFUL RING 
so little that you are willing to lose it for noth- 



“I do not think I will lose it,” answered the 
Prince. “I make no doubt but that I will be 
able to build the palace, and to build it in one 
single night as you require.” 

“Very well,” said the King. “If you are 
determined to make the attempt, I will not 
forbid you, but you will certainly lose your 
head, even as others have done before you.” 

The King then commanded that the Prince 
should be taken to the seashore, and that a 
guard should be set around him, so that if he 
failed in the attempt, he should not be allowed 
to escape without paying the penalty. 

The Prince, however, had no thought of 
escaping. He trusted in the power of the ring 
and had no doubt but that as soon as he wished 
it, the palace would appear. He bade his faith¬ 
ful animals keep watch and rouse him just 
before dawning, and then he spread his cloak 
on the ground and lay down and went quietly 
to sleep. 

The guards who were set to watch him were 
amazed. “This young man must wish to die,” 
38 


AN EAST INDIAN STORY 


they said. “He has not even made the first 
attempt to build the castle, and takes no thought 
of how the hours of the night are slipping away.” 

Just before dawning, the animals awakened 
the Prince. The dog barked in his ear, the 
cat scratched him gently, the parrot pulled him 
by the sleeve, and the snake twisted about his 
arm and pinched him. 

The Prince yawned and rose up, stretching 
his arms. He then set about making a square 
clean place as before. He plastered it over and 
laid the ring in the center of it. He then 
sprinkled it with some sour milk with which 
he had provided himself and said, “I wish 
a golden palace to be built in the sea immedi¬ 
ately. I wish it to have golden turrets and 
domes, and a golden stairway leading up from 
the water. I also wish it to be furnished 
throughout with golden furniture and hangings, 
and I wish it to be in every respect the most 
magnificent palace in all the world.” 

Immediately, as the Prince wished, the golden 
palace appeared in the sea, and it was in every 
way exactly as he had asked. 

The guards who had been set to watch him 

39 


THE WONDERFUL RING 


could hardly believe their eyes when they saw 
a golden palace arise out of the sea. “Look! 
Look!” they cried. “Most wonderful! It 
must be a magic palace!” 

Almost at the same time the King in his royal 
palace awakened, and at once he went to the 
window to look out across the sea. What was 
his amazement to see, instead of the stretch of 
water, a most magnificent palace with golden 
domes, and turrets that glittered in the sun. 
It was so very beautiful that he could not refrain 
from crying out with wonder and admiration. 

He at once made haste to dress and hurried 
out to find the Prince. As soon as he came near 
where the Prince was, he began to call to him. 
“You have done what seemed impossible. 
Never before have I seen such a beautiful 
palace. The Princess and the half of my king¬ 
dom are yours, and gladly will I give them to 
you in exchange for the palace.” 

“No,” answered the Prince, “I have no wish 
for either the Princess or the kingdom. The 
Golden Castle is mine and I intend to live in it 
myself.” 

He then beckoned to a golden boat that lay 
40 


AN EAST INDIAN STORY 

beside the steps of the palace. At once, and 
with no one to row it, the boat shot across the 
water to where the Prince stood. The Prince 
stepped into it, followed by his three compan¬ 
ions, and it returned to the golden steps with 
him, and then he landed. 

The King was greatly disappointed. He now 
wished very much to have the Prince for a son- 
in-law. He bade his daughter dress herself in 
her finest robes and her richest jewels and come 
with him to visit the Prince. 

The Princess was not loath to do this, for she 
wished very much to see inside the palace. 
She dressed herself finely as her father com¬ 
manded and then went with him to the palace. 

No sooner did they come to the room where 
the young Prince was, and no sooner did he 
look upon the Princess, than he fell violently 
in love with her, for never before had he seen 
such a beauty, and he wished to marry her at 
once. 

This pleased the King greatly. The Prin¬ 
cess was quite willing, for she had fallen in love 
with the Prince even as he had with her. So a 
feast was made ready as soon as possible, and 
41 


THE WONDERFUL RING 


the Prince and Princess were married with the 
greatest pomp and magnificence. 

For some time afterward the young people 
lived together in happiness, but after a while 
the Princess lost all her cheerfulness and became 
very sad and mournful. The Prince could not 
tell what ailed her. One day he found her 
weeping. 

“My dear Princess,” he said to her, “why are 
you so sad and mournful ? Do you no longer 
love me ? Or is there something you wish for 
that is lacking in our palace ?” 

“There is nothing lacking,” answered the 
Princess, “and indeed I love you better every 
day we live together.” 

“Then what ails you, my dear one ?” 

The Princess again began weeping. “I am 
weeping,” said she, “because everything you 
have here in the palace is golden and I wish to 
be golden too, for that would be so beautiful. 
Oh, my dear husband! Is there not some way 
by which I also may be turned to gold ?” 

“Yes,” answered the Prince, “that can easily 
be done; and since it seems you are no longer 
happy as you are, I am willing to oblige you.” 

42 


AN EAST INDIAN STORY 


He then cleared a square place and prepared 
it as before, and laid the ring in the center of 
it and sprinkled it with sour milk.” 

“I wish,” said he, “that the Princess may 
become golden.” 

At once the Princess was turned into gold, 
every bit of her — her head and body and hands 
and feet — even her nails and hair and eye¬ 
lashes became gold. 

“Now are you content?” asked the Prince. 

“Oh, I am so happy that I can hardly contain 
myself. But that is a very wonderful ring that 
you have, and I am well pleased to know of its 
power.” So saying, the Princess went away to 
look at herself in a mirror and to admire her 
golden beauty. 

Not long after this the Princess was combing 
her hair, and three hairs caught around the 
comb and were pulled out. “It is a pity there 
is no poor person here in the castle to whom 
I can give these hairs,” said the Princess, “for 
they are very valuable.” 

She did not wish to throw away that much 
gold, so she took a piece of paper and made a 
box of it. In this she coiled the three hairs 


43 


THE WONDERFUL RING 


and set it afloat on the sea. “It may be they 
will fall into the hajnds of some one who needs 
them,” thought the Princess to herself. 

Now a light wind was blowing, and it carried 
the paper box on and on over the waves until 
it came to the borders of another country ruled 
over by another King. There the box drifted 
ashore, and there it was picked up by a servant 
from the palace close by. The servant examined 
the box and wondered over the golden hairs 
it contained. They seemed to him so very 
beautiful that he carried them back to the 
palace and showed them to the King, and the 
King in turn showed them to the Prince, his 
son. 

No sooner did the Prince see the hairs than he 
fell desperately in love with the Golden Prin¬ 
cess to whom they belonged, even though he 
had never seen her. “I feel sure that only a 
Princess could have such hair,” said he, “and 
that she must be the most beautiful creature 
in all the world, and unless I can see her and 
win her for a bride, I feel sure I shall die of 
longing.” 

Indeed, this desire to see the Princess was so 

44 


AN EAST INDIAN STORY 


great that he became very Ul, and not all the 
physicians in the kingdom were able to cure 
him. The King was greatly troubled ; he feared 
the Prince would indeed die with longing as 
he said. He therefore sent out a proclamation 
that any one who would find the Princess and 
bring her to his palace should name his own 
reward. Whatever it was it should be given 
him, even to the half of the kingdom. 

Now there lived not far from there an old 
wise woman who was very crafty. She came 
to the palace and asked to see the King, and 
when she was brought before him she said, 
“Oh, King, I am willing to undertake this 
matter, and I feel sure I can find the Princess 
with the golden hair and bring her to the Prince. 
But first I wish to make sure that in such a case 
I shall receive a reward as you have promised.” 

“What I have promised I have promised,” 
replied the King, “ and if you succeed in this 
matter you shall have whatever you ask for.” 

“Very well,” said the wise woman, “then I 
will undertake it.” She then told the King 
that she would need, for the adventure, a golden 
boat with four strong rowers trained to obey 
45 


THE WONDERFUL RING 


every motion she made without her having to 
speak to them. She also would need in the 
boat a large cradle made of all sorts of different 
colored silks, and silken ropes to swing it by. 
All these things the King gave her, and then the 
old woman set out in search of the Princess. 

The rowers rowed on and on, and after a 
long long time they came within sight of the 
Golden Castle, and as soon as the wise woman 
saw it she knew that it must be there that the 
Princess of the Golden Hair lived. 

She made the rowers draw up the boat beside 
the steps, and then she hastened up the steps 
and went into room after room of the castle 
until she came to the place where the Princess 
was sitting. 

As soon as she saw the Princess she gave a 
cry of joy, and ran to her and put her hands on 
her head as is the custom with relatives, and 
then she took the Princess in her arms and 
kissed her. 

The Princess was very much surprised at 
having a strange old woman come into the 
palace and treat her in this way, and she tried 
to push her away. But the more the Princess 
46 


AN EAST INDIAN STORY 


tried to push the old woman away, the closer 
the old woman held her. 

“Oh, my dear niece!” cried she, “do you not 
know me ? I am your old aunt.” 

“No,” answered the Princess, “I do not 
know you, and I did not know I had an aunt.” 

“What!” cried the wise woman, pretending to 
be very much surprised, “has your father never 
spoken of me ?” 

“No, he has not.” 

“Ah, well! It is a long time since he and I 
parted.” The old woman then told the Prin¬ 
cess a long story of how she and the Princess’ 
father were brother and sister, and of how they 
had played together as children, and of how 
she had journeyed away to live in a far-off 
kingdom while the Princess was still a very 
little girl. She told it so cleverly that the 
beauty could not but believe it, and in the end 
she made her pretended aunt welcome, and 
they sat down and talked together pleasantly. 

The pretended aunt asked the Princess a 
great many questions about the palace and how 
she lived, and why there were no servants to be 
seen anywhere. 


47 


THE WONDERFUL RING 


“We have no need of servants/’ answered 
the Princess, “because my husband has a ring 
that has very wonderful powers, and it supplies 
us with everything we want. He has only to 
ask for anything, and it appears.” 

“That is a very wonderful story,” said the 
wise woman. “And where does your husband 
keep his ring ?” 

“Oh, he wears it always on his hand.” 

The wise woman then asked where the young 
Prince was and whether he were at home. 

“No, he has gone hunting with my father, 
dear aunt. They often go hunting together.” 

“And does he take the ring with him when 
he goes hunting?” 

“Yes; it never leaves his finger except when 
he is working magic with it.” 

The pretended aunt shook her head. “That 
is very dangerous,” she said. “Suppose some¬ 
thing should happen to him while he is hunting 
and the ring should be lost! That would be 
a great misfortune to both of you. He should 
leave the ring at home with you, and then it 
would be safe, and you would have it here at 
need.” 


48 


AN EAST INDIAN STORY 

“That is very true, ,, answered the Princess. 
“I had not thought of that. I will ask him to 
leave it with me the next time he goes' hunting.” 

The wise woman was well satisfied with this 
and rejoiced in her heart, for she believed the 
Prince would do as the Princess wished in the 
matter, and after the Princess had the ring in 
her possession she felt sure she could lure her 
away with her. 

She and the Princess sat together talking 
for a long time, and before the Prince came home 
the wise woman begged the Princess not to tell 
him she was there. “I have many fine robes,” 
said she, “but they are in another boat that is 
following not far behind. When it arrives I 
will dress myself in a way that is suitable, and 
then you shall present me to the Prince.” 

To this the beauty agreed, and so when her 
husband came home she told him nothing about 
the visit from her pretended aunt. 

The next day the Prince was going hunting 
again, and before he set out the Princess begged 
him to take off the magic ring and leave it with 
her. This he was loath to do, but she entreated 
him so anxiously to let her keep it that at last 
49 


THE WONDERFUL RING 

the Prince could refuse her no longer. He 
took off the ring and placed it in her hand. 

No sooner had the Prince left the palace than 
the old wise woman hastened to the Princess 
and asked her whether her husband had left 
the ring with her. 

“Yes,” answered the Princess, “here it is, 
and I intend to put it on a ribbon and hang it 
about my neck so that I may not lose it.” 

“That is a wise plan,” said the pretended 
aunt. She then began to talk to the Princess 
of the beautiful boat in which she had come 
thither, and of the strong rowers, and of the 
many-colored cradle that hung from silken 
ropes and swung with every breath of wind. 

The Princess became very curious to see these 
fine things, and the pretended aunt easily per¬ 
suaded her to come down with her to the boat 
and to enter into it. She showed the Prin¬ 
cess where the cradle was hung, and while the 
Princess was admiring it, the wise woman mo¬ 
tioned the rowers to row away from the palace 
steps and away across the sea; and this they 
did. 

The Princess was so busy examining the 
So 


AN EAST INDIAN STORY 


cradle that it was some time before she noticed 
that they were moving onward and that the 
palace was far behind. Then she was very 
much surprised and troubled. 

“Where are we going ?” she asked of the wise 
woman. “I do not think my husband would 
like me to leave the palace. I must return at 
once.” 

“Presently! Presently!” answered the pre¬ 
tended aunt. “But first lie down in the cradle 
and see how pleasantly it rocks with the motion 
of the boat.” 

“Only for a moment, then,” said the Prin¬ 
cess, and she lay down in the cradle. 

At once, by her magic arts, the wise woman 
threw her into a deep sleep and she then took the 
ring from the ribbon around the Princess’ neck 
and put it upon her own finger. 

The Princess slept until they arrived at the 
kingdom whence the wise woman had come. 
She then aroused the Princess and bade her 
leave the boat and follow her. 

“Where are we, and why have you brought 
me hither?” asked the Princess. 

“I have brought you hither to marry you to 
5i 


THE WONDERFUL RING 


one of the finest young Princes in the world, 
and one who is dying for love of you.” 

The Princess was horrified. “I can never 
love any one but my own dear husband, and I 
will always be true to him and never marry 
any one else.” 

The old woman obliged the Princess to come 
with her before the King, however, and when 
he saw how very beautiful she was he was 
amazed. He sent for his son, and the young 
Prince came in haste. As soon as he saw the 
Golden Princess he wished to take her hand and 
tell her how he loved her, but she would not 
allow him to touch her nor would she listen to 
him. 

“Very well,” said the King. “I see you do 
not love the Prince as yet, but you soon will. 
We will wait for a month, and then you shall 
marry him whether you wish it or not.” 

It was in vain the Princess wept and entreated 
and implored. “What I have said, I have 
said,” declared the King, “and nothing can 
change me.” 

The Princess was then led away to the apart¬ 
ments prepared for her, but the old wise woman 
52 


AN EAST INDIAN STORY 


kept the ring, for that was the reward she 
demanded of the King, and she would not 
accept anything else. 

Now while all this was happening, the Prince 
of the Golden Palace returned from hunting, 
and was very much surprised not to see his 
Princess waiting on the golden steps to greet 
him, for this had always been her custom. 
He called her, but there was no answer; he 
hastened from room to room of the palace, 
searching everywhere. When he could not 
find her he was in despair. “Some one has 
stolen her,” he cried, “and surely she is lost to 
me forever.” 

“Master, do not be so desperate,” said the 
parrot. “What are my wings for except to 
serve you. There was an old woman who came 
here while you were away, though you did not 
know it. I make no doubt but that she has 
stolen the Princess. Now I will fly abroad far 
and near, and never will I return until I find 
her.” 

“And I,” said Puss, “will go with you, for 
after you have found the Princess, my wit and 
claws may be of use to her.” 


THE WONDERFUL RING 


“ But how will you cross the sea ? And how will 
you cross the rivers that divide the kingdoms ?” 

“I also will go with you,” said the dog, “and 
I will swim the sea and rivers, for that I can do, 
and puss shall ride upon my back dry-footed.” 

To this the parrot agreed, and the three set 
off together. 

They journeyed on and on for a long time, 
hither and yon, until at last they came to the 
very kingdom to which the old woman had 
carried the Princess, and there, through an upper 
window of the palace, the parrot saw the gleam 
of golden hair. 

At once he called to the dog and cat, “ Surely 
that is the Princess sitting there at an open 
window. Do you wait and I will go and see 
whether it is certainly she, and then I will re¬ 
turn and tell you.” 

The parrot flew up to the palace window and 
lighted on the sill. The Princess had been weep¬ 
ing, but when she saw him she gave a cry of joy. 

“Oh, my dear parrot, is the Prince here ?” 
she cried. “Has he come to save me ?” 

“No, Princess,” answered the bird, “he 
could not travel so fast and far as we, so he is 
54 


AN EAST INDIAN STORY 


waiting mournfully at the Golden Palace for 
us to return. Give me the Ring of Fortune 
that I may carry it back to him, and then he 
can wish you with him again.” 

At these words the Princess began to weep 
more bitterly than ever. She told the parrot 
how she had been lured away, and how the wise 
woman had stolen her ring from her while she 
was asleep. 

“You must manage to get the ring back into 
your possession,” said the parrot, “for until 
you have it, we can do nothing.” 

“That is impossible,” wept the Princess. 
“The old woman keeps the ring in her mouth 
both night and day. No one is allowed even 
so much as to see it.” 

“This makes the matter more difficult,” 
said the parrot. “I will have to consult the 
others about it.” 

He then flew back to where the dog and cat were 
waiting and told them all the Princess had said. 

“Did I not say you would need me?” said 
Puss. “I will manage to steal into the palace 
and to the chamber of the Princess, and then 
I can arrange some way to make the old woman 
55 


THE WONDERFUL RING 


give up the ring. Meanwhile do you return to the 
Princess and hide yourself behind the curtains 
in her room, for I may need your help.” 

It did not take the cat long to find a way to 
enter the palace, and she then slipped along 
the passages and up the stairways to the cham¬ 
ber where the Princess was. 

The Princess was no less glad to see Puss than 
she had been to see the parrot. The cat prowled 
about the room and soon found several rat 
holes back of the hangings. 

“Now listen, Mistress,” said the cat. “To¬ 
day you must ask them to prepare you some 
boiled rice for your supper. When it is brought 
to you do not eat it all. Save a portion of it 
and scatter it on the floor near the rat holes. 
Be sure to do this, for I have a plan in my head 
by which I hope to save you.” 

The Princess promised to do as the cat said, 
and when, a little later, the wise woman came 
to visit her, the Princess asked to have rice for 
her supper. When the rice was brought she 
ate only a little of it, and then, when no one 
was looking, she scattered the rest of it on the 
floor near the rat holes. 

56 


AN EAST INDIAN STORY 


All this while the cat and the parrot remained 
hidden behind the curtains. 

That night, according to her custom, the 
wise woman slept in the Princess’s chamber. 

When all was still, and no one waking but the 
guard outside the door, the rats came out from 
their holes and began to eat the rice the Prin¬ 
cess had scattered about. This was what Puss 
was waiting for. At once she pounced from 
behind the curtains and caught the largest and 
fattest of the rats. Holding it in her teeth she 
climbed upon the old woman’s bed and tickled 
the old woman’s nose with the rat’s tail. This 
made the old woman sneeze, and when she 
sneezed, the ring flew out of her mouth and rolled 
across the floor. 

The parrot was on the watch; it caught 
up the ring in its beak and flew out of the win¬ 
dow with it, while the cat made haste to slip 
out of the palace the way she had come in and 
rejoin the dog, who was waiting below. 

Meanwhile the wicked old wise woman was 
like one distracted. The sneeze had awakened 
her, and as soon as she awoke she discovered 
the ring was gone from her mouth. She did 
57 


THE WONDERFUL RING 


not know what had become of it and hunted 
everywhere, but she could not find it. She 
shook and trembled and raged against the 
Princess, but rage as she might, it did not bring 
back the ring, for it was gone. 

The parrot flew on and on with the ring till 
his breath failed and his wings flagged, but by 
morning he was back at the Golden Palace. 
He flew through a window into the room where 
the Prince was, and dropped the ring on the 
table before him. 

When the Prince saw the ring he could hardly 
believe his eyes, and it seemed as though his 
heart would leap out of his bosom with joy. 
He at once prepared a square place as before 
and laid the ring in the center of it. He 
sprinkled it with sour milk and wished that his 
own dear Princess would return to him, and at 
once, in a twinkling, there she stood before 
him in all her golden beauty. 

She and the Prince fell upon each other’s 
necks, weeping with joy, and from that time on 
they lived together in love and happiness, and 
the Prince never again allowed the Ring of For¬ 
tune to go out of his possession. 

- 58 


THE THREE SISTERS 
A Georgian Tale 

There was once a widower who had three 
daughters, and they were all so pretty that it 
did one's heart good just to look at them. 

After a while the man married again, and 
that was a bad thing for the girls, for their 
stepmother hated them. Every day she lived 
she hated them worse, and she did everything 
she could to injure them in the eyes of their 
father. Often she begged him to send them 
away out of the house. Sometimes he said he 
would, and sometimes he said he would n't, 
but it always ended in his keeping the girls at 
home with him. 

One day the stepmother shut herself up in 
the kitchen alone and made some large thin 
cakes, very hard and brittle. Just before her 
husband came home she went to bed, and took 
59 


THE THREE SISTERS 


the cakes into the bed with her, and hid them 
under the covers. 

As soon as she heard him come in she began 
to sigh and groan. 

“What is the matter with you ?” asked the 
man. “Are you ill that you groan so?” 

“Oh I am very ill indeed,” answered the 
woman; and she rolled over on the cakes so 
that they crackled under her. 

“What is that crackling noise ?” her husband 
asked. 

“It is the sound of my heart cracking at 
the thought of your daughters. Unless you 
can get rid of them, and that quickly, I shall 
certainly die.” Then she rolled over again, 
and the cakes crackled more loudly than ever. 

The man was frightened. He thought, “I 
never heard any one’s heart crackle before. It 
seems I will have to get rid of the girls, after 
all, or else lose my wife.” Then he said to her, 
“Take comfort, dear one. To-morrow I will 
take the girls away and manage someway 
so that they shall never trouble you again.” 

After that he went out and walked and 
walked until he came to an apple tree loaded 
60 


A GEORGIAN TALE 


with ripe apples. He dug a deep pit under this 
tree and covered the hole over, first with 
branches and afterward with stones and earth. 
Then he returned home again. “I will take the 
girls out for a walk to-morrow,” he told his wife, 
“and I have arranged it so that they will not 
come home again, — not any more forever/’ 

When the woman heard this, she became quite 
merry, and rose out of bed and went about her 
work as usual. 

The next day the man said to his daughters, 
“Come! I am going to take you for a walk. 
I know where there is an apple tree loaded 
down with fine ripe apples. We will go there 
and gather some, and you shall eat to your 
hearts’ content.” 

The girls were delighted. They set out with 
their father, and went along until they came 
to the apple tree. Here the girls would have 
begun to gather the apples at once, but their 
father bade them wait a bit. “Do you stand 
here,” he said, “while I go and shake the 
tree. Then when I give the word do you all 
run in at once and see who can gather the 
most apples.” 

61 


THE THREE SISTERS 


To this the girls agreed. They stood and 
waited while their father went under the tree 
and shook it. The apples were so ripe they 
fell like a hailstorm. 

“Now! Now!” he cried. “See who will be 
the first to gather them.” 

The girls all ran forward at once, and when 
they came over where the pit was, the branches 
gave way, and they all fell into it, with the 
apples rattling down with them. 

At first they did not know what had happened 
to them. One moment they were up in the 
sunlight, and the next moment they were 
down in a deep hole. They began to call to 
their father to come and pull them out, but 
he did not answer them, nor did he come to 
their succor, for as soon as they had fallen into 
the pit he had run away home as fast as he 
could. He could not bear to stay and listen 
to their cries. 

For a long time the girls called to him, and 
then they began to suspect that he had deserted 
them. “This is our stepmother’s doings,” they 
cried. “Never would our father have treated 
us in this way except for her.” 

62 



" Now ! Now ! ” he cried. " See who will be the first to 
gather them.” Page 62. 
















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A GEORGIAN TALE 


After a while they became hungry, and they 
gathered the apples and divided them amongst 
themselves. Each had the same number. The 
two older girls at once ate all their apples, every 
one of them, but the youngest hid three of 
hers to keep for another time. 

For some time the girls were satisfied with 
what they had eaten, and then they became 
hungry again. They grew hungrier and hun¬ 
grier, and still no one came to succor them. 

“Unless we have food to eat, we will surely 
perish,” said the eldest sister. 

“That is true,” said the next younger, “and 
indeed I see no help for us.” 

“There are three of us here in the pit,” re¬ 
joined the eldest, “and all of us are like to die. 
Now if one of us would give herself to be eaten, 
then two might still remain alive until help 
came. And is it not better that one should die 
rather than all of us ?” 

The youngest sister was horrified when she 
heard this. “What you say is against the laws 
of God,” she cried. “If we did this evil thing, 
he would surely punish us. See! Here are 
three apples that I saved and kept hidden 
63 


THE THREE SISTERS 

away. Let us eat these and still live a while 
longer.” 

The elder sisters rejoiced when they saw the 
apples, and each snatched one and ate it 
greedily, and the youngest ate the third. 

But after a time they were hungry again, 
and the second sister said, “What our eldest 
sister said was very true. It is indeed better 
that one should die rather than all three. Let 
us now decide which one of us shall be eaten.” 

But again the youngest sister cried out against 
the idea. “Wait!” said she, “I will kneel 
down and pray to God to help us, and it may 
be he will hear me and save us from the wicked¬ 
ness you propose.” 

She then kneeled down and prayed that one 
of her hands might be changed into a pickaxe, 
and the other into a shovel. 

As she prayed, so it was done to her. One 
hand became a pickaxe and the other a shovel. 
At once the girl began to dig into the side of 
the pit. She dug and dug until she came to a 
mouse-hole, and in this was stored a quantity 
of nuts and grain. 

The girls ate, and were satisfied, and after the 

64 


A GEORGIAN TALE 


youngest had rested awhile, she began to 
dig again. This time she dug for a long time. 
She dug and dug until she came right under 
the King’s stable, under the place where the 
food for the horses was kept. She dug up 
through the floor of the feed room, and a great 
heap of nuts and raisins and other good things 
fell down into the hole so that the girls could 
eat all they wanted. For the King’s horses 
were not fed on common food the way common 
people’s horses are, but with all sorts of delicious 
things. 

After this the girls feasted every day on good 
things from the feed room. The stablemen 
could not think what became of all the horses’ 
food, for the hole was over in a corner where it 
was dark, and no one noticed it. The stable¬ 
men locked the door and windows of the stable, 
but still the food disappeared. At last they 
went to the King and complained about it, 
and he set a guard about the stable, and that 
did no good either. The horses that had been 
so fat and glossy became quite thin and poor, 
because there was not enough left for them to 


eat. 


6S 


THE THREE SISTERS 


At last the youngest girl said to her sisters: 
“Now we have taken enough from the stable. 
I fear if we take more, the horses will starve. 
I must begin to dig again/’ 

She dug and dug; she dug a long time, and 
then she came up through the ground beside 
the hut of a poor old woman. She looked in 
through the window, and no one was there, for 
the old woman had gone to Mass and she had 
left everything dirty and out of order. On the 
table near the door were two loaves of fresh- 
baked bread. 

The girl called her sisters, and they went in 
and each took a piece of bread; they were so 
hungry they could not resist doing this. After 
they had eaten they set to work and swept 
and scrubbed, — put everything in order. Then 
they went back into the hole again. 

When the old woman returned from Mass she 
was very much surprised to find her house all 
swept and set in order. She was greatly 
pleased, and when she found that a portion 
of the bread had been taken in payment she 
did not grudge it. 

The next day the same thing happened. The 

66 


A GEORGIAN TALE 


old woman went to Mass as usual, and while 
she was away the sisters came and ate of her 
bread and then cleaned the house and made all 
tidy. 

When the old woman came home she was 
more surprised than ever. She wondered who 
had done all this. “To-morrow I will stay at 
home and see,” said she. So the next day she 
rolled herself up in a piece of matting and 
leaned behind the door. 

The sisters came as usual, and thinking no 
one was there, they ate some bread and set 
about their cleaning. Then the old woman 
dropped the matting from about her and stepped 
out from behind the door. 

She looked at the sisters, and they were so 
beautiful that she thought at first they must be 
angels. But when she saw they were frightened 
at the sight of her, she knew they were human 
beings like herself. 

Then she spoke to them kindly and made 
them welcome, and invited them to sit with 
her at the table and eat. This the sisters were 
glad to do, and after they had made an end of 
eating, the old woman was so pleased with 

67 


THE THREE SISTERS 


them that she begged them to stay there with 
her always, and be to her as daughters, and she 
promised she would love them and care for them 
as though she were their mother. 

To this the girls gladly agreed, and after that 
they lived there with the old woman and were 
well content. But when any of the neighbors 
came to the house, the old woman hid the girls 
away under three baskets, for they were so 
beautiful she feared some one might try to 
steal them away from her. 

For a time all went well, and then the sisters 
began to tire of the food the old woman gave 
them, and to think of the delicious nuts and 
raisins they used to eat when they were living 
under the King’s stable. Their mouths watered 
when they remembered how good those things 
had tasted. At length, one day when the old 
woman was away, the three sisters returned 
into the hole and followed it back to the King’s 
stable. Here they came out and began to 
eat; but they were so busy cracking the nuts 
and enjoying the good things they forgot to 
keep watch, and two of the King’s attendants 
heard them, and crept up and caught them 
68 


A GEORGIAN TALE 


before they could escape. The attendants took 
the girls before the King and said to him, 
“Your Majesty, here are the robbers who 
have been stealing the food from your horses. 
We caught them in the stable eating the nuts 
and raisins, and they had cracked so many 
nuts the shells were heaped up all about them.” 

The King looked at the girls and was amazed 
at their beauty. Never had he imagined any 
one could be as lovely as they, and he knew 
he could never be happy unless he could have 
one or other of them for a wife. But first he 
wished to find out whether they were clever 
as well as beautiful, so he spoke to the eldest 
sister and said* “Tell me: if I should take it 
into my head to make you my queen, what 
clever thing could you do that is worth the 
doing ?” 

“I will tell you what I could do,” said the 
girl. “I could weave such an enormous carpet 
that your entire army could rest on it and still 
only half of it would be unrolled.” For she 
thought within herself, “The King does not 
need such a carpet; he will never prove my 
boast.” 


69 


THE THREE SISTERS 


But in this she was mistaken. “That would 
indeed be a wonderful thing,” said the King. 
“Let flax be brought in, and let us see if you 
can really weave me such a carpet.” 

The girl was frightened. The flax was 
brought as the King commanded, but she could 
do nothing with it. She began to weep and 
wail, and at last was obliged to confess that 
what she had said was not true. 

The King was offended and sent her away 
from before him with reproaches. 

Then he turned to the second sister and said, 
“Now tell me, what could you do if I made 
you my Queen ?” 

The second sister answered, “I could cook 
enough food in an egg-shell for you to feed 
your whole army, and after that there would 
still be food left over.” 

“That is even a more wonderful thing to 
promise,” said the King, and he commanded 
that an egg-shell should be brought, and bade 
the girl cook a meal in it for the army as she 
had said she could do. 

But the girl was no more able to do this than 
her sister had been able to weave the carpet. 

70 


A GEORGIAN TALE 


She was obliged to confess it. The King was 
very angry and sent her away from before 
him, as he had sent the other. 

Then he turned to the youngest sister, and 
she was the most beautiful of all, so that his 
heart yearned for her. “Now tell me, what 
could you do for me if I were to marry you ?” 
he asked. 

“I could bear you golden-haired children,” 
replied the third sister. 

This answer pleased the King the best of all, 
and he determined to make the girl his wife. 
They were married with great ceremony, and 
afterward her sisters came to live with her in the 
palace, for she loved them so dearly she could 
not bear to be parted from them, and the King 
was willing to forgive them for her sake. 

The older girls were not grateful to their sister, 
however. They pretended to be delighted over 
the good fortune that had come to her, but in 
reality they were filled with envy and jealousy. 
They hated her because she had been chosen 
to be a Queen instead of one of themselves, 
and also because the King trusted her word 
after theirs had been proved false. 

7i 


THE THREE SISTERS 

Nevertheless for some time all seemed to 
go well in the palace. The King and his 
young Queen loved one another dearly and were 
very happy together. But after a while it 
became necessary for the King to go on a long 
journey. Before he set out he spoke to the 
older sisters and bade them guard the young 
Queen carefully. 

“It may be,” said he, “that a child will be 
born to us while I am away. If this should 
happen, and if the child should be a boy, hang 
up a sword above the gateway that I may see 
it from afar, and rejoice; and if it be a girl, 
hang a spindle over the gate, for then, too, 
I will be glad.” 

Then he kissed his wife farewell and rode 
away. 

Now not long after he had gone, a beautiful 
boy was born to the Queen, and his hair was of 
pure gold, even as she had promised the King. 
Only her sisters were with her at the time. 
They would allow no one else to enter the room. 
When they saw how beautiful the child was, 
and that it had golden hair, they were furious 
and hated their sister more than ever because 
72 


A GEORGIAN TALE 


her word had come true. They waited until 
the Queen was asleep, and then they stole the 
child away and put him in a box they had 
made and threw it in the river to float away, 
whither they cared not. They did not dare 
to kill the child, but they hoped he would 
soon perish from cold and hunger. Then they 
returned to the palace and hung a pestle over 
the gateway, and put a little dog in the cradle 
where the Prince had lain. 

As soon as the Queen awoke, she asked for 
her babe. Then the sisters showed her the 
puppy and told her that was her child. The 
Queen could not believe them. She wept and 
reproached them bitterly, saying they had 
stolen her child, but this they would not admit. 

“How can you say such a thing?” they 
cried. “How can you believe we would do 
such an evil deed ? Indeed this is your child 
and no other. As to all this about a babe 
with golden hair, that is only a dream of yours.” 
The younger sister could do nothing against 
them, for it was two against one. 

Not long after this the King came riding 
home. When he came near the palace he looked 
73 


THE THREE SISTERS 


to see whether either a sword or a spindle were 
hanging over the gateway. What was his 
amazement to see there a pestle. No sooner 
had he entered the palace than the two sisters 
came hurrying to meet him, and immediately 
he demanded of them the reason for a pestle 
being hung above the gate. 

The sisters began to weep. “ Alas ! Alas ! that 
we should have to tell it,” they wept. “Our 
sister promised you golden-haired children and 
instead she has given you only a puppy.” 

The King was thunderstruck. He could 
hardly believe them, but they led him to the 
cradle and showed him the little dog, and then 
he could doubt no longer. However, he be¬ 
lieved that some wicked magic must have 
wrought this thing, and that it was not the 
fault of his wife. He forgave her and loved her 
as dearly as ever, but he was grieved to the 
heart that such a thing should have happened. 

The sisters, however, were well content. 
Nothing was heard of the young Prince, and 
they believed he had perished as they wished. 

Such, however, was not the case. The box 
in which they had placed him had floated on 
74 


A GEORGIAN TALE 


down with the river without accident until 
at last it came to a place where there was a 
mill. Here it became wedged in the mill¬ 
wheel, so that the wheel could no longer turn. 

The miller who owned the mill came out.to 
see what had happened to his wheel, and there 
he found, wedged in it, a box, and a beautiful, 
golden-haired babe asleep in the box. 

The man was delighted. He and his wife had 
always longed for children, but had never had 
any. He carried the child home to his wife, 
and they rejoiced over it, and determined to 
keep it and love it and care for it as though 
it were their own child. So the Prince lived in 
the mill house, and as he grew older he played 
with the children round about, and knew no 
other than that he was the miller’s son. 

Now some time after the child had been 
stolen away, the King arranged to go a-hunting, 
and again he bade the older sisters guard the 
Queen carefully while he was away, and to 
allow no harm to come near her, and they 
promised to do all he commanded. 

“And remember,” said the King, “if a 
child should be born to us while I am away, hang 
75 


THE THREE SISTERS 


a sword over the gateway if it is a boy, but 
hang a spindle there if it is a girl. ,, 

This also the sisters promised to do, and then 
the King kissed his wife and set out on the 
chase. 

While he was gone a second golden-haired 
son was born to the Queen, and this child, too, 
the sisters stole away and put in a box and set 
it adrift on the river, and they put a kitten in 
the cradle in place of the child. Then they 
went out and again hung a pestle over the door¬ 
way. 

When the King came riding home, the first 
thing he did was to raise his eyes to the gate¬ 
way, and there he saw the pestle hanging. Then 
his heart was filled with rage. He sprang from 
his horse and hastened into the palace and 
demanded why a pestle once more hung above 
the gateway. 

Weeping, the two evil sisters led him to the 
cradle and showed him the kitten. “This is 
the golden-haired child your wife promised 
you,they cried. “Tell us, are her promises 
any truer than were ours ?” 

When they said this, the King became beside 

76 


A GEORGIAN TALE 


himself with shame and anger. He commanded 
the young Queen should be wrapped in a 
bullock skin and led forth and fastened to a 
post in front of the palace, and that every one 
who passed that way should make a mock of 
her; and as he commanded, so it was done. 
The young Queen was dressed in a bullock’s 
hide, and led out into a public place, and there 
chained to a post, and every one who passed by 
scowled and pointed and cried shame upon her. 

But the second Prince had not perished any 
more than the first had. When the two sisters 
set him adrift on the river, the box he was in 
floated down and down with the stream, until 
it came to the mill and was caught in the mill¬ 
wheel just as the other box had been. Again 
the miller came out to see why his wheel would 
not turn, and there he found the box and in it 
the golden-haired child so like the one he had 
found before that it would have been hard to 
tell them apart. 

He made haste to lift the child from the box 
and carry it home to his wife. “Look!” 
said he. “Heaven has sent us a second son to 
bless our old age.” Then they rejoiced over 
77 


THE THREE SISTERS 


the child, and they kept him and loved him as 
dearly as though he were their own flesh and 
blood. 

Time passed on, and the two young Princes 
throve and waxed in strength and beauty. 
They grew as much in one week as other children 
grow in a year, so that they were the wonder 
of all who saw them. 

Now it so chanced that one day the King 
came riding by that way, and he saw the two 
brothers playing beside the mill. He was 
amazed when he saw them, not only because of 
their strength and beauty, but because they 
were so like himself. 

He called to them and they came running 
toward him, and as they came they caught off 
their caps from their heads. Then the King 
marveled more than ever, for both the boys 
had hair of pure gold. 

They stood before him, and he began to 
question them as to who they were and they 
told him they were brothers, and sons of the 
miller who lived close by. 

Then the King thought within himself, “If 
my Queen had kept her promise, I might have 
78 


A GEORGIAN TALE 


had two such golden-haired sons as these”; 
and he was very sorrowful. 

He bade the lads come to the palace the next 
day, for he wished to talk with them further. 
“And if you please me,” said he, “I will make 
you my pages and keep you always near me.” 

The young Princes rejoiced when they heard 
this, and gladly promised they would come, 
and then the King rode on his way with bent 
head and a thoughtful heart. 

The next day the miller’s wife made the lads 
fine for their visit to the palace, and they set 
out together, very eager and light of heart. 
They journeyed along briskly, and so, after a 
while, they came to the city and the public 
place in front of the palace. There, to their 
surprise, they saw a beautiful woman chained 
to a post, and she was very noble and queenly 
looking, though she was clothed in nothing but 
a bullock’s hide, and her golden hair that 
fell down all about her. The two young Princes 
pitied her, and they went over toward where 
she sat, intending to question her. 

But no sooner did the Queen see them than 
she gave a loud cry, and began to weep aloud, 
79 


THE THREE SISTERS 


for she recognized them at once as her sons, 
both because of their golden hair, and because 
they looked exactly like the King. 

The Princes could not understand why she 
should begin to weep at the sight of them, 
but she called them to her and told them who 
she was and why she was chained there, and she 
also told them they must be the sons who had 
been lost to her so many years. 

When the Princes heard all this they believed 
her, and their hearts yearned over her. “We 
will go to the King,” they said, “and tell him 
all you have said, and we make no doubt but 
that he will listen to us and free you and take 
you back again to be his Queen.” Then they 
left her and went on into the palace, and the 
Queen’s heart was full of happiness because 
her sons had been restored to her. 

When the lads entered the palace, they were 
quickly brought before the King, for he was 
expecting them. They paid their respects to 
him, and then the older of the two went down 
into the kitchen and took from the cook a 
pheasant that he was basting. He brought it 
into the King’s hall and began to baste it before 
80 


A GEORGIAN TALE 


the fire there. He turned it this way and that, 
and as he turned it he talked. He told the 
whole story of the Queen, and how she had been 
cheated by her wicked sisters and what had 
been done to her, and the people all stood 
around and listened. 

When he had made an end he said, “And if 
this is true, the chains that hold her will fall 
apart, and she will be free and will come back 
into the palace.” 

No sooner had he said this than out in the 
courtyard the fetters fell away from the Queen, 
and she came running in, clothed as she was 
in the bullock’s hide and her mantle of golden 
hair. 

Then the second son took the pheasant 
from his brother and turned it before the fire, 
and as he turned it he said, “All that you have 
heard is true and more than true. If it is as I 
say this pheasant will become alive again and 
be covered with feathers and fly away.” 

At once, as he said, the pheasant slipped 
from the spit, and became alive and covered 
with glistening feathers, and flew away. 

Then the King knew that the boys had spoken 
81 


THE THREE SISTERS 


truth, and the Queen was blameless. Then he 
took her in his arms and wept over her and 
kissed her, and his heart was fit to break with 
joy because these noble children with their 
golden hair were his. 

Afterward the miller and his wife were 
brought to the court and lived there for many 
years with great honor. But the two wicked 
sisters were punished as they deserved, which 
was only right and justice, but the King and 
Queen and the two Princes lived happy forever 
after. 


82 


THE GOLDEN HORSE, THE MOON 
LANTERN, AND THE BEAUTIFUL 
PRINCESS 

A Swedish Tale 

There were once two brothers named Peter 
and Jack. Peter was the older and Jack was 
the younger. Their father and mother had 
died while they were still quite small. They 
had no homeland they wandered about, living 
on such food as charitable people gave them. 

One day in their wanderings they came to a 
ditch; they crossed over and found themselves 
in a cornfield. Never had they seen such grain. 
The stalks towered high above them, they were 
so gigantic. The boys were hungry for they 
had eaten nothing all day, and they broke off a 
few heads and began to eat the grains. 

Suddenly they heard a sound of shouting. 
They looked up and saw a great, fierce-looking 
83 


THE GOLDEN HORSE 


giant striding across the grain field toward 
them. He was scowling terribly, and in his 
hand he flourished a cudgel. 

“What do you mean by stealing my grain 
and trampling down my cornfield ?” shouted 
the giant. 

Peter was so frightened he could do nothing 
but stutter, but Jack answered up bravely, 
“Indeed, we meant no harm. We only took a 
few grains because we were so hungry, and we 
could not trample down the grain field even if 
we wish it. The stalks stand too high above 
us.” 

Suddenly the giant put on a smiling look and 
became quite friendly. “Well, well! Perhaps 
there is no harm done, after all. And if you 
are hungry come home with me, and I will 
give you all the food you can eat. My larder 
is full, and you shall have the best of all that is 
in it.” 

“That is good,” said Peter, plucking up 
courage. “Gladly will I go with you, for it is 
a long time since I have had a full stomach.” 

“No, but wait a bit,” said Jack. “First 
let me speak with you, Peter.” Then he drew 
84 


A SWEDISH TALE 


his brother aside and whispered in his ear. 
“Peter, be careful what you do. I do not like 
the looks of this giant. I am sure he intends 
us some mischief. Let us get away from 
him as quickly as we can. Worse evils can 
befall us than to be hungry.” 

But Peter would not listen to him. “Let 
me alone,” said he. “Go back across the ditch 
if you are frightened ; but as for me, I am going 
with the giant and nothing you can say shall 
dissuade me.” 

“Very well, then, I will go'with you,” said 
Jack. “If harm is to befall you, I will share 
it.” 

The two brothers then went back to the 
giant and told him they were ready to go with 
him. 

“Good,” said the giant, whose name was 
Grimgruff. “My house is not far from here. 
Follow me, and we will soon be there.” 

He strode back across the cornfield, and the 
two brothers followed him, running between the 
cornstalks that towered above them, and very 
soon they came to the giants’ house. 

“Come in! Come in, and welcome,” cried 

85 


THE GOLDEN HORSE 


the giant. He led the two lads in and shut the 
door behind them. Then he began bawling for 
his wife. “Wife! Wife! Come quickly. I’ve 
brought guests home with me. Get out the 
best in the larder to set before them.” 

The giant’s wife came in a hurry, and an 
ugly one she was to look at, so coarse and 
heavy, and with only one eye, in the middle of 
her forehead. 

As soon as she saw the boys she began smiling. 
She got out all sorts of good things from the 
larder and set them out on a table in a small 
room beyond the kitchen. 

“Sit down and eat,” said the giant. “To 
all the best that we have you are welcome.” 

The boys sat down at the table as he bade 
them, and ate till they could eat no longer. 
Then the giantess carried away the dishes, 
and the giant too went out and locked the 
door behind him, so that the boys were fastened 
in. 

“Brother,” said Jack, “did you notice the 
giant locked us in here?” 

“What if he did ?” said Peter. “My stomach 
is full of good victuals, and that is all I ask for.” 

86 


A SWEDISH TALE 


Then he lay down on a settle in the corner and 
went fast asleep. 

But Jack could not make himself so easy. 
He crept over to the door and found a crack 
in it, and when he put his eye to this crack he 
could see into the next room. There the giant 
was sitting at a table and before him was a 
whole ox and loaves of bread as big as barrels. 

“Listen !” said the giant to his wife. “Those 
are fine large boys I brought home with me. 
We will fatten them up a bit and then we will 
bid our neighbors in and make a feast of them.” 

When Jack heard this he was horribly 
frightened, but he still crouched there close 
to the crack, watching and listening. 

The giant fell to eating, crunching and smack¬ 
ing his lips. He ate the whole of the ox, bones 
and all, and twelve loaves of bread also. Then 
he began to bawl to his wife for water. 

“Where is the water ?” he shouted. “Where 
is the water ? You know I always drink after 
I have eaten.” 

His wife began to excuse herself. “It was 
too dark for me to see to go to the well,” she 
answered. 


87 


THE GOLDEN HORSE 


“Then you should have taken my Moon 
Lantern,” shouted the giant. “Go now and 
get it. You know where it is hanging. ,, 

The giantess went over to a closet and took 
down from a shelf a most beautiful golden 
lantern that shone like the full moon, so that 
all the kitchen was filled with its brightness, 
and carrying it in her hand, she went out to the 
well to get the water. 

Jack stole over to where Peter lay on the 
settle and wakened him and told him all he had 
seen and heard. 

Peter began to shake and shiver. “What 
shall we do about it ?” he chattered. “We 
will have to escape out of here somehow, for 
I cannot bear the thought of being eaten.” 

“Hush!’’ whispered Jack. “Wait until I 
see what further happens.” He crept back to 
the door and peeped through the crack again. 

Presently the giantess returned with the 
water. The giant drank deep, and then he 
arose and stretched himself. 

“Now I will saddle my Golden Horse and 
ride out for a bit,” he said. “While I am gone 
do you let the boys out to run about the house. 

88 


A SWEDISH TALE 


They will eat better and fatten up sooner if 
they have some freedom; but do not let them 
escape, whatever you do.” 

“Trust me to keep an eye on them,” said 
the giantess; and then the giant went on out, 
banging the door behind him. 

Presently the giantess came over and opened 
the door of the room where the boys were. 
“Come out! Come out!” she told them. 
“ Walk about a bit and try to get hungry, so 
that in the morning you can eat a good break¬ 
fast.” 

The two boys came out from the room, but 
Peter was so frightened that he did nothing but 
stand in a corner of the kitchen and shake 
and shiver; but Jack walked all about and 
looked at everything. 

When it was bedtime the giantess made the 
boys climb into a great high bed and she her¬ 
self lay down on the floor in front of it. Soon 
she went to sleep and snored aloud. The 
rafters shook with the sound of her snoring. 

Jack waited for a while, and then he slipped 
out of bed very quietly and tiptoed over to 
where he had seen a fire-steel lying beside the 
89 


THE GOLDEN HORSE 


hearthstone. He picked it up and brought it 
over and laid it above the giantess, for he knew 
that as long as there was a fire-steel over her 
she would not be able to waken. Then he 
called to Peter to come quickly, for now was 
the time for them to escape before the return 
of the giant. 

Peter slipped from the bed, trembling, and 
Jack opened the door, and they ran out into 
the night together. They did not stay or 
linger until they had safely passed through 
the cornfield and were over on the other side of 
the ditch. 

There they saw a house, and late though it 
was, Jack went boldly up to the door and 
knocked. The farmer who lived there stuck 
his head out of the window and asked them 
who they were and what they wanted. 

“We are two poor boys who have escaped 
from the giant’s house over beyond the ditch 
and the cornfield,” answered Jack. “We haye 
come here to ask shelter for the night.” 

As soon as the farmer heard this he made 
haste to come down and open the door to them. 
“You are very fortunate to escape from the 
90 


A SWEDISH TALE 


Giant Grimgruff,” the farmer told them. 
“ He is a very fierce and terrible creature, and 
eats boys as though they were so many radishes. 
But you are quite safe here, for the giant has 
no power over on this side of the ditch, but only 
on the other side of it. You may sleep here 
in the kitchen to-night, and to-morrow you 
can do some work for me, and I will give you 
your breakfasts in return for it.” 

The brothers thanked the farmer and lay 
down in the kitchen near the fire and went to 
sleep. 

In the morning the farmer took them out to 
the fields and showed them what he wanted 
them to do. The field was quite close to the 
ditch. “Do not be afraid of the giant’s seeing 
you here,” said the farmer. “As long as you 
are on this side of the ditch, he cannot harm 
you; but whatever happens, do not let him 
, lure you over to the other side, or it will go 
ill with you.” 

The brothers promised to heed what he told 
them, and then they set to work and the farmer 
went away and left them. 

They had not been working long before a 
9i 



THE GOLDEN HORSE 


bright light shone about them. They looked 
up, and there was the giant riding down through 
the grain field on his Golden Horse, and the 
horse shone in the sunlight so that it was 
dazzling, for every hair upon it was of pure 
gold. 

The giant drew up close to the side of the 
ditch and began to talk to them and cajole 
them. 

“Why did you run away and leave me?” 
he cried. “Was I not kind to you ? Did I 
not give you good food to eat and a comfort¬ 
able bed to sleep on ?” 

“Yes, you did all that,” shouted Peter. 
“You gave us good food and a soft bed to lie 
on because you wanted to fatten us and make 
of us a feast for your friends.” 

“How could you think such a thing!” cried 
the giant. “No, no; I love stout, lusty lads 
like you. Come back, and I will tell you what 
1 will do for you. Over in my house I have a 
beauteous Princess. Her eyes are like jewels, 
her cheeks like roses, and her hair of spun 
gold. She sits there in a cage, waiting for her 
true love to come and open it for her. If 
92 


A SWEDISH TALE 

you will come back with me, whichever one 
of you opens the door shall have her for a 
bride.” 

But the lads were not to be enticed. “Once 
we fell into your power, but never again shall 
you lure us with you,” Jack answered. “Not 
even for the sake of a Princess are we willing 
to be eaten.” 

The giant stayed there for a long time, 
begging and enticing them with all sorts of 
promises, but the lads turned a deaf ear to 
him; they would not even answer, and at 
last the giant rode off in a rage, muttering 
threats against them. 

The brothers stayed with the farmer for some 
days, working for him, and then, when he had 
nothing further for them to do, they set out 
again on their wanderings. 

They journeyed on, one foot before the other, 
for a short way and a long way, and then they 
came to a fine grand palace, and the King of 
all that country lived there. 

They knocked at the door and asked whether 
there was any work they could do. 

“Yes,” said the King’s steward, “we need 

93 


THE GOLDEN HORSE 


a stableboy, to help with the horses; and if 
this lad” — and he pointed to Jack — “cares 
to do it, he can stay here and we will pay him 
good wages.” ' 

“And what about my brother?” said Jack. 

At that the steward shook his head. He did 
not like the looks of Peter. He looked lazy, 
and he looked ill-tempered, and the steward 
did not want him about the palace. 

“And that suits me well enough,” said 
Peter. “I have no love for work, anyway. I 
would rather be jogging along and eating such 
food as is given me for nothing.” And then, 
without even so much as a good-by to his 
brother, off he set; and that was the last Jack 
saw of him for many a long day to come. 

But as for Jack, he stayed there and worked 
about the stable, and he was so cheerful and 
pleasant and industrious that he won the good 
will of every one. Even the King took notice 
of him, and after a while he brought the lad 
in from the stable and made a courtier of him. 
From that time on Jack became the King’s 
favorite above all others. 

Now after some time had passed Peter came 
94 


A SWEDISH TALE 


back again to the palace, and he was very ragged 
and miserable looking, for the world had not 
treated him kindly. He knocked at the kitchen 
door and asked to see his brother. 

As soon as Jack heard that Peter was there, 
he came running down in all his fine clothing, 
and he was so glad to see his brother he hardly 
knew how to make him welcome enough. He 
asked Peter all about his journeyings, and Peter 
told him. Then it was Peter’s turn to ask what 
Jack was doing, and when he heard how Jack 
had prospered, and had become a courtier and 
was now the King’s prime favorite, his heart 
was fit to break with rage and envy. 

“And is there no place here that you can get 
for me?” asked Peter. 

Well, Jack would ask the King about it. 

He went to the King and told him all about 
his brother, and the King said he would take 
Peter in as a stableboy, just as Jack had been 
in the first place. 

Now instead of being grateful for this, 
Peter was more enraged than ever against his 
brother. He could not bear it that Jack should 
be so high above him and the King’s favorite, 
95 


THE GOLDEN HORSE 


while he himself was only a stableboy. But 
Jack never guessed that. He used to come 
out to the stable to sit and talk with his brother 
and make much of him. 

Now the King had a favorite horse that he 
prized above all others, it was so beautiful. 
Often he came to the stable to admire it and 
pat and caress it. One day when he was 
looking at it, he said to the courtiers who were 
with him, “Tell me: Do you think in all the 
world there is another horse as beautiful as 
this is ?” 

Before the courtiers could answer, Peter, the 
stable lad, spoke up quickly. “I know a steed 
so beautiful and shining that this horse of 
your Majesty’s is as nothing beside it, and 
every hair upon this horse I speak of is of pure 
gold.” 

“Where have you seen such a horse?” 
inquired the King. 

“It belongs to a giant named Grimgruff, 
who lives far away on the borders of your 
Majesty’s kingdom. Both my brother and I 
have seen it, and if he truly wished to please 
you, I am sure he would get it for you.” 

96 


A SWEDISH TALE 

. “Is this true?” asked the King, turning to 
Jack. 

“I have indeed seen such a horse,” answered 
the favorite, “but as to getting it from the 
giant, that is a different matter.” 

“Nevertheless, if it is at all possible, I wish 
you to try; for now that I have heard of it, I 
will never be content until I have it in my 
stable.” 

“I can but make the attempt,” said Jack, 
“and if I fail, it will not be for the lack of 
trying.” So the next day he set out on his 
adventure. 

As for the elder brother, when he heard 
Jack had gone, he was filled with joy, for he 
believed his brother would never return, and he 
hoped in time to take his place in the King’s 
favor. 

After Jack left the palace, he traveled along 
briskly enough, one foot before the other, until 
after a while he came to the place where the 
kind farmer lived, and here he stopped in for a 
friendly word and a bit of advice. 

At first the farmer hardly knew him, he had 
grown so tall and handsome, and was dressed so 
97 


THE GOLDEN HORSE 


finely. But when he found Jack was the same 
lad he had befriended beforetime, he made 
him welcome and wanted to hear all about his 
adventures. 

Jack told him how he had been lucky enough 
to get work at the palace, and how he had risen 
from being a stableboy to being a courtier, and 
was now the King’s favorite. 

“And what brings you by this way again?” 
asked the farmer. 

“Oh, my brother Peter is stableboy now, and 
he told the King of the Golden Horse that 
belongs to the giant, and now nothing will 
content the King but for me to try to get it 
for him.” 

“That is not an easy task,” said the farmer, 
“and yet it should not be impossible. Over 
in yon corner is a coil of rope. Take it, for you 
will need it. You must manage to get near the 
stable where the horse is kept without the 
giant’s seeing you. Tie a rock to the end of the 
rope and throw it in through the stable window. 
Then you can climb up the rope and enter the 
stable. Set the door wide open and mount the 
Golden Horse and then off and away with you. 

98 


A SWEDISH TALE 


Once fairly started, no one in the world can 
ever overtake or stay you.” 

Jack thanked the farmer kindly for his advice. 
As soon as it was dark enough, he took the 
rope and stole away to the giant’s house. 
He managed to approach the stable without 
being discovered, and tying a stone to the end 
of the rope, he threw it in through the window. 
After that he made short work of climbing 
into the stable. He set the doors open and 
mounted the Golden Horse. Then away he 
went like the wind. None could have ridden 
faster. 

The noise of the hoofs awakened the giant, 
and he jumped out of bed and ran out of the 
house. “Hie, there! Hie, there! Bring back 
my Golden Horse !” he shouted. “Stop, thief! 
Stop ! Stop, I tell you !” 

But Jack never paused nor tarried. When he 
reached the ditch the horse flew over it at a 
single bound, and by morning Jack was back 
again at the King’s palace with the Golden 
Horse between his knees. 

When Jack rode into the stable yard on the 
giant’s Golden Charger, his elder brother was 
99 


THE GOLDEN HORSE 


like to die of rage and chagrin ; but he pretended 
to be glad, and praised Jack to the skies for his 
cleverness and daring. 

As for the King, he was delighted. He could 
not wonder enough over the horse’s beauty and 
brightness, and from that time on he would 
ride no other steed. Jack had been a favorite 
before, now he was twice as much so. The 
elder brother could hardly bear it; his heart 
was ready to burst with envy. 

One day the King came to the stable to 
admire his Golden Horse and caress it. 

“Tell me,” said he to the courtiers who were 
with him, “in all the world is there a treasure 
to equal my Golden Charger?” 

Then before the courtiers could answer, Peter 
the stable lad spoke up quickly. 

“I know a wonder that not only equals but 
far surpasses the Golden Horse.” 

“What is this wonder you speak of?” 

“It is the Moon Lantern, and it also belongs 
to the giant Grimgruff.” Then he told the 
King of the golden lantern, and of how he and 
his brother had both seen it. “And if your 
dear favorite wished, he could get it for you 
ioo 


A SWEDISH TALE 


easily enough,” he said, “ and, moreover, I am 
sure he would do so if he cared to please you.” 

“Is it true that there is such a lantern ? ” the 
King asked Jack. 

“Yes, there is such a lantern; and, moreover, 
I have seen it.” 

“And would it be possible for you to get it 
for me ?” 

“It might be possible, but it would be a very 
difficult and dangerous adventure.” 

“Nevertheless, I wish you to try; for since I 
have heard of the lantern, all my other treasures 
and possessions are as nothing to me without 
it.” 

Jack was willing, and the next morning he set 
out once more for the giant’s house. But on 
the way he stopped in to see the friendly farmer 
and ask his advice. 

“Well,” said the farmer, after he had greeted 
Jack and made him welcome, “and what is it 
brings you back this time ? ” 

“Oh, it is the Moon Lantern. My brother 
told the King about it, and now he will never 
be contented until he owns it.” 

“This is even a more dangerous adventure 
101 


THE GOLDEN HORSE 


than the other,” said the farmer. “ Moreover, 
now the giant has grown suspicious and is watch¬ 
ing for you. Nevertheless, it may be that you 
will come through safely. To-night you must 
go and hide yourself near the giant’s well. 
After he has eaten his supper he will send his 
wife out with the Moon Lantern to draw water 
for him. You must be on the watch, and when 
she leans over to draw the water, you must 
catch her by the heel and throw her into the 
well. I will give you a cloak to wrap around 
the lantern to hide its light, and once you are 
safely back to this side of the ditch, the giant 
will not be able to catch you or take it from you.” 

Jack thanked the farmer for his advice and 
took the cloak, and when it was dark he managed 
to steal up to the giant’s house and hide himself 
near the well without being discovered. 

There he waited for a long time, until the 
giant had finished his supper. Then Jack 
could hear him bawling, “Where is the water? 
Where is the water? You know I always 
drink after I have eaten.” 

“ It was too dark to go and fetch it,” answered 
the giantess. 


102 


A SWEDISH TALE 

“What have I told you? What have I told 
you ? Take the Moon Lantern, and it will 
light the way for you.” 

Presently the door opened, and the giant’s 
wife came out grumbling with the Moon 
Lantern in her hand. 

When she got to the well, she set the lantern 
down beside it and leaned over to draw up the 
water. Then Jack stole out and caught her 
by the heel and threw her into the well. After 
that he wrapped the cloak around the lantern 
to hide its brightness and ran away with it. 

The giant waited and waited for his wife to 
bring him the water, and then he set out to 
look for her. When he came to the well and 
saw her feet sticking out of it and found the 
lantern was gone, he knew well enough who had 
stolen it. He set out in pursuit of Jack, 
bawling horribly, but already the lad had crossed 
the ditch, and the giant was unable to catch 
him. 

When Jack returned to the palace with the 
Moon Lantern, the King did not know how to 
make enough of him. Never had he seen any¬ 
thing as beautiful as the lantern. If Jack had 
103 


THE GOLDEN HORSE 


asked for everything in the King’s treasure- 
house, the King would scarce have refused him. 

As for Peter, he was ready to burst with envy 
and rage against his brother. All day he did noth¬ 
ing but plot and plan as to how to injure him. 

Again one day the King came to the stable to 
caress and admire his Golden Charger. He saw 
the stable lad Peter standing there, and he 
said to him, “Now I have not only the Golden 
Horse but the Moon Lantern also. Is there 
anything left in the world for me to desire ?” 

“Yes, there is,” answered Peter boldly. 
“Over in the giant’s house there is a Princess 
more beautiful than any one can imagine. 
Her eyes are like jewels, and her cheeks like 
roses, and every hair on her head is of pure gold. 
Unless you can possess her you have missed 
the world’s greatest treasure, and if your 
favorite only wished to please you, he could 
easily get her for you.” 

The King called the younger brother to him. 
“Is all this true about the beautiful Princess ?” 
he inquired. “Peter the stable boy tells me 
there is one in the giant’s house, so lovely that 
she is the world’s greatest treasure.” 

104 


A SWEDISH TALE 


“I believe that is true,” answered the lad, 
“but I myself have never seen the Princess.” 

“Do you think you could get her for me?” 

“I do not know, but I can try if you so 
desire it, but it will be a very dangerous adven¬ 
ture.” 

“I do desire it,” answered the King, “for 
now that I have heard about the Princess I 
feel as though I could never be happy without 
her.” 

So the next day Jack set out again in the 
direction of the giant’s house, and now the elder 
brother was sure he would never return from 
the venture. 

Jack went straight to the wise farmer and 
told him what the King required. “The Golden 
Horse and the Moon Lantern I won for him, 
and now he wants me to bring him the Beautiful 
Princess also, and I fear that will be a difficult 
and dangerous matter.” 

“It will indeed,” answered the farmer, “and 
I am not at all sure that you will come safely 
out of this adventure, but what I can do I will do 
to help you in this matter.” 

He then told the lad that the giant kept the 


THE GOLDEN HORSE 


Beautiful Princess locked in a cage up in a 
high tower. “And none may unlock that 
cage,” said the farmer, “but the one the 
Princess is to marry. I can hardly think you 
are that one, and if the giant should find you 
while you are trying to open it, he will certainly 
kill you. If I were you, I would return to the 
King and tell him it is impossible to win the 
Princess for him.” 

“No,” said Jack, “I am determined to make 
the venture, and nothing you can say shall 
dissuade me.” 

“Very well,” said the farmer. “What must 
be must be. It may be Heaven will favor you.” 

By the farmer’s advice Jack stayed there with 
him until evening, and then he stole over to 
the giant’s house and hid himself in some bushes 
near the door. He lay hidden all through the 
night, and the next morning also until he saw 
the giant leave the house and stride away 
over the hills and out of sight and hearing. 
Then he went into the house and hunted about 
until he found the steps that led to the tower. 
He went on up them, up and up until he came 
to the tower, and there was a room, and in the 
106 


A SWEDISH TALE 


room was a golden cage, and in the cage was a 
Princess more beautiful than anything the lad 
had ever dreamed of. Never had he imagined 
the world held such loveliness. If he had 
looked at her long, he would have loved her, 
but that he dared not do, for he had come 
there to win her for the King and not for him¬ 
self. 

As soon as the Princess saw the lad, she cried 
aloud with amazement. “Who art thou to 
venture here so boldly ?” she asked. “Dost 
thou not fear the giant will destroy thee ?” 

“The giant is far away by this time,” answered 
Jack, “and before he returns I hope to have freed 
thee. It must be now or never.” 

Then he went close to the door of the cage 
and examined it, and saw it was fastened with a 
heavy lock of solid gold, and the key was missing 
from the keyhole. He put his hand on the 
lock, and no sooner did he touch it than it fell 
away and the door swung open. 

Then the Princess came out and said to the 
lad, “You have opened the door and set me 
free, and that is what no one but my own true 
love and destined husband could do. Now 
107 


THE GOLDEN HORSE 


I will be yours and you shall be mine, and 
nothing on earth shall part us.” 

But the lad answered, “Not so. I came here 
to win you for my master and not myself. 
He is a great king, rich and powerful and fit to 
marry a princess. Moreover I would be an 
unfaithful servant if I wished it otherwise. 
Come ! Let us be going before the giant returns 
to catch us.” 

When the Princess heard this she became 
very sad. “What must be must be,” she 
answered, “and I will go with you to the King, 
your master. All the same, I misdoubt that 
any one but you, dear lad, shall be my hus¬ 
band.” 

Then they left the tower and departed 
safely, and by the time the giant returned they 
were far away beyond the ditch, and out of his 
power entirely. When the giant discovered 
this, and found that he had lost not only his 
Golden Horse and his Moon Lantern but the 
Beautiful Princess also, he swelled and swelled 
with rage until he burst, and that was the end of 
him. 

But the lad traveled back to the castle with 
108 


A SWEDISH TALE 


the Princess, and when the King saw her he 
could not wonder enough at her beauty. He 
came toward her to take her hand, but before 
he could touch her the bars of the golden cage 
rose about her, so he could not even approach 
her. Moreover, the door of the cage was locked 
and the King could not unfasten it, try as he 
might with both hand and sword. 

Then the lad touched the lock, and imme¬ 
diately it fell apart and the door opened. 

The King was amazed. “How is this ?” said 
he, “I cannot force the door open, and yet for 
you it opens at a touch of your finger.” 

Then the lad, who was very truthful, told 
the King what the farmer had said to him. 

The King listened carefully, and after the lad 
had made an end of the telling, the King said 
to him, “If this be true (and indeed I scarce 
can doubt it), then Heaven wills that you and 
no other shall be her husband.” 

He then ordered a grand feast to be pre¬ 
pared, and Jack and the Princess were married 
with great magnificence. 

But Peter was so mad with rage and envy 
that he left the palace and went away out into 
109 


THE GOLDEN HORSE 


the world, and no one ever knew what became 
of him. Jack sorrowed for him and hunted 
for him a long time. But he never found him. 

Jack and his bride journeyed away after a 
time to the country of the King who was the 
Princess’s father, and there they lived in the 
greatest love and happiness forever after. 


no 


THE LADY OF THE LAKE 
A Welsh Tale 

A fisher lad and his mother once lived upon 
the borders of a wide lake. Every day the lad 
went down to the lake to fish, and he found 
a good sale in the village near by for all he could 
catch. 

One time he had cast his nets all morning 
without catching anything. At noon he sat 
down to eat the food his mother had given him. 

Suddenly the surface of the lake was curiously 
disturbed and out from the depths of it arose 
a beautiful lady. She was dressed all in rose 
color and wore many jewels, and she floated on 
the waters as softly and quietly as though she 
were some great flower. In her hand she held 
a golden comb, and she began to comb her hair, 
bending over to look at her reflection in the 
water. 


hi 


THE LADY OF THE, LAKE 


The fisher lad gazed at her entranced. Never 
had he imagined such a beauty. 

After the lady had finished combing her hair, 
she bound it up and fastened it with strings of 
jewels. She then seemed about to disappear 
under the water, but the fisher lad called her, 
begging and entreating her to come and share 
his meal. 

The lady answered, “Hard baked is thy 
bread; I have no wish to share it, and I am 
hard to catch.” She then sank down into the 
water and was lost to sight. 

The lad returned home distracted with love 
for the Lake Lady. He told his mother all that 
had happened. “Unless I can see her again,” 
he cried, “unless I can talk with her and eat 
with her I will drown myself in the lake, for 
life without her is not worth living.” 

His mother did her best to quiet him. “Here 
is no such desperate matter,” said she. “If 
she has come to you once, no doubt she will 
appear again. Your baked bread was too hard 
for her. Well and good! To-morrow I will 
give you a cake of dough. Perhaps that will 
lure her to you.” 


112 


A WELSH TALE 


The next day the lad hurried down to the lake, 
carrying with him the cake of dough his mother 
had made for him. All morning he sat and 
watched, and toward noon the water was again 
disturbed, and the Lake Lady rose from out of it. 
She floated there again as beautiful as a lily and 
combed her hair and bound it up. Then the 
fisher lad called to her, “Fair one, Fair one, 
float hither! Here is a cake of soft dough I 
have brought you. Come sit by me and eat it, 
and we will talk together.” 

But the Lake Lady answered, “Unbaked is 
thy bread; I have no wish to share it, and I 
am hard to catch.” 

And she disappeared under the waters. 

The lad returned to his mother quite des¬ 
perate. 

“Now what shall I do?” he cried. “She 
would not come to me when I called her; she 
would not eat the dough I carried her because it 
was unbaked. Unless I can lure her to me, I 
will surely die of longing.” 

“Do not be so distracted,” said his mother. 
“She would not eat the bread because it was too 
hard, nor the dough because it was uncooked. 
113 


THE LADY OF THE LAKE 


To-morrow I will give you a half-baked loaf. 
It may be that will bring her to you.” 

The next day the lad went down to the lake, 
carrying with him the slack-baked loaf wrapped 
in a clean napkin. For the third time the lady 
came up out of the water and combed her hair 
and bound it up. When she was about to dis¬ 
appear, the lad called out to her piteously, 
begging her to come and eat with him. And 
this time the lady answered, “Now I will come 
to thee. Soft is the bread thou bringest. 
Gladly will I eat it.” 

She then floated over to the shore and came 
and sat down by the side of the fisher lad. He 
gave her the bread and she ate of it. He was 
half mad with joy. When he looked at her 
closely she seemed to him more beautiful than 
ever. Her feet were as white as silver, and she 
wore green sandals curiously tied above the 
instep. 

After she had eaten and was about to depart, 
the lad told her how dearly he loved her, and 
that life was worth nothing to him without her, 
and asked her whether she would marry him. 

“ Willingly would I marry thee,” said the lady, 
114 


A WELSH TALE 


“but that must be as my father chooses. Still, 
if I tell him I wish thee for a husband, I do not 
think he will say no to me/’ 

“And who is thy father ?” asked the lad. 

The lady told him that her father was king 
over all the lake and the streams that emptied 
into it. There under the water was his palace 
and he was the owner of flocks and herds in¬ 
numerable and of untold riches. 

When the lad heard that, his heart sank 
within him, for he did not think a king would 
ever give permission for his daughter to marry a 
poor fisher lad. 

The lady, however, encouraged him. Her 
father loved her so dearly that he had never re¬ 
fused her anything she asked him. “Nor do 
I think,” said she, “that he will refuse me 
this time either. I will go now and talk with 
him.” 

The lady then arose, but before she went she 
bade the fisher lad tie the latchet of her sandal, 
for it had come unfastened. This he did, 
knotting it carefully. The lady then bade him 
wait for her there and disappeared down under 
the water. 

US 


THE LADY OF THE LAKE 


The lad stayed where he was, shaken by hope 
and fear. After what seemed to him a long time, 
the surface of the lake was disturbed, and up 
from it arose a kingly looking old man with a 
long white beard that fell down below his girdle. 
He wore a golden crown on his head, and his 
robe was stiff with jewels. With the old man 
came his two daughters, and they were both 
exactly alike. There was not the difference of 
an eyelash between them. One was the lady 
the lad had lured to him from the water, and one 
was her sister, but which was which he could 
not for the life of him decide. 

The King of the Lake led his daughters across 
the lake to where the lad was standing and said 
to him, “My son, you have asked one of my 
daughters to marry you. She wishes to have 
you for a husband, and I do not forbid it. Only 
first you must tell me which of these two is the 
one you love. Unless you can do this you may 
not have either, but they must return again 
with me down under the lake, and you will 
never see them again.”' 

The lad looked from one to another of them, 
and he did not know which to claim as his 
116 



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A WELSH TALE 


bride. Then she who was on the old man’s 
right hand put forward her foot, and he saw the 
knot of her sandal was the knot he had tied. 
Quickly he put out his hand to her and answered 
boldly, “This is my true love, and it is she and 
she alone I would have for a bride.” 

The old man appeared pleased at this an¬ 
swer. He said, “You have chosen rightly, and 
by this I know how truly you love her. Go 
home and prepare for the wedding, and in three 
days from now I will bring her to you.” He 
and his daughters then disappeared again into 
the lake. 

The youth returned home full of joy and told 
his mother all that had occurred. At once they 
set about preparing for the marriage. A feast 
was made ready, and the neighbors were 
bidden to it from far and wide. 

On the third day, as the old man had promised, 
he came to the hut where the fisher lad lived, 
leading the bride by the hand. With him he 
brought great flocks and herds of fat sheep and 
fine cattle. These and the jewels she wore were 
his daughter’s dowry. 

All went merrily. The young couple were 

n 7 


THE LADY OF THE LAKE 


married, and there was much feasting and 
laughter. 

Just before the old man departed, he took his 
new son-in-law aside and spoke to him in private. 
“I have given you my daughter for your bride,” 
said he, “ and she will make you a true and faith¬ 
ful wife if you treat her properly. But I must 
caution you never to strike her without due 
cause. If you should do so, you would cause her 
great unhappiness; and if you strike her three 
times without cause, she will be obliged to leave 
you and return to the lake, and you will never 
see her again.” 

The young husband was greatly surprised 
that the Lake King should think it necessary 
to say this. “How could I ever strike her, 
when I love her so tenderly ?” he cried. “That 
is a thing that could never happen.” 

“It is well spoken,” answered the old man; 
“but remember what I have said.” He then 
departed back to the lake and the young man 
saw him no more. 

After the marriage the young people lived 
together for some years in great love and con¬ 
tentment. In due time a little son was born 
118 


A WELSH TALE 


to them, — a strong and handsome babe, and 
now it seemed as though there were nothing 
left for them to desire. 

One day there was to be a christening in the 
neighborhood, and the young husband and wife 
were bidden to attend it. The time came for 
them to set out, and the horses were led up to 
the door. Suddenly the wife remembered she 
had left her gloves in her chamber and asked her 
husband to get them for her. 

“I will get them,” he answered, “and as we 
are late already, do you go out and mount your 
horse so that we may start the sooner.” 

He went up and found the gloves, but when he 
returned, his wife was still waiting where he had 
left her. “Come, come!” he cried, “we shall 
be late;” and he playfully struck her on the 
shoulder with the gloves. 

The lady looked at him sadly. “Now you 
have struck me once without cause,” said she. 
“Remember what my father told you. If it 
should happen twice again, I would be obliged to 
leave you.” 

The young man was amazed. He had not 
thought his playfulness would be treated as such 
119 


THE LADY OF THE LAKE 


a serious matter. “Forgive me,” he said. “I 
meant nothing by it, but it shall never happen 
again.” 

Then he and she mounted their horses and 
rode away together, but the husband was very 
thoughtful. 

When they reached the place where the chris¬ 
tening was to be, they found a number of people 
already gathered, and there was much talk and 
laughter. But while all others were gay, the 
lady was very sad and wept, wiping away the 
tears as they fell. 

Her husband, who was sitting behind her, 
leaned forward and touched her on the shoulder. 
“Why are you weeping while all others are glad 
and rejoice ?” he asked. 

“I weep because another soul is starting out 
into life to toil and suffer,” answered his wife. 
“And now you have struck me a second time 
without cause. Once more, and I must leave 
you forever.” 

The husband was astounded. He did not 
see how she could speak so gravely of the touch 
he had given her. Still he made up his mind 
to take warning and be more careful in future. 


120 


A WELSH TALE 


For a long time he bore this in mind and never 
touched her except to caress her. Then one 
time they went to a funeral together. There 
everything was sorrow and weeping. Only 
the lady’s eyes shone with joy, and she laughed as 
though with pleasure. 

Her husband thought she had forgotten where 
they were. He touched her on the arm to re¬ 
call her. “Hush! Hush!” he whispered. 
“ How can you laugh while all others are griev¬ 
ing?” 

“ I laugh because another soul has entered into 
eternal happiness,” said she. “But now you 
have struck me for the third time without 
cause, and I must leave you.” So saying she 
arose quickly and silently and went out before 
her husband could stop her. 

He followed her as soon as he could, but she 
had already set out for home. He mounted 
and rode after her, but did not overtake her. 

When he reached their dwelling, the fields 
and byre seemed strangely still and empty. 
His mother came out to meet him weeping and 
wringing her hands. 

“What has happened?” she cried. “Thy 
121 


THE LADY OF THE LAKE 

wife returned, and at once and without a word 
to me she called the flocks and herds together 
and set out towards the lake. All the animals 
followed her. Even the black heifer that was 
killed yesterday came down from the nail 
where it hung and followed after her.” 

At that the young husband seemed to go 
distracted. He pushed his mother aside and 
ran along the path that led to the lake. The 
path wound up a hill. When he reached the 
top of the hill he could see the lake stretched 
out before him. There was his dear wife 
walking steadily toward it. The flocks and 
herds followed close after her. He could 
even see the black heifer, now well and whole 
like the others. 

He called to her, begging and beseeching her 
to wait for him, but the lady never turned her 
head. She walked straight on to the edge of 
the lake, and the waters divided before her. 
On into it she. went, the flocks and herds close 
behind her, and then the waters closed together 
again and all were lost to view. 

The young husband hastened down to the 
lakeside and stood there for a long time, call- 
122 


A WELSH TALE 


ing and beseeching his wife to return to him, 
but there was no answer. The lake lay smooth 
and silent, its surface unbroken by even a 
ripple. 

Not until daylight had faded did he return to 
his deserted home. There the old mother met 
him with tears, and they spent the night to¬ 
gether lamenting. 

The next day the young husband returned to 
the lakeside, and the day after and for many 
days following he returned there, but he never 
saw the Lake Lady. 

Years passed by, and in time the young man 
married again, and this time it was a maiden 
from the village whom he married. 

On his wedding night the old grandmother, 
who had the child sleeping in the room with 
her, was awakened by a sound of weeping. 
She sat up and looked about her and then, 
by the light of the moon that shone in through 
the window, she saw the Lake Lady bending 
over the bed where the child lay. 

The old woman spoke to her, but she made no 
answer. Still weeping, she laid her hand on the 
child’s forehead and bosom, and then she with- 
123 


THE LADY OF THE LAKE 


drew in silence and vanished, but where, the old 
woman could not tell. The child did not awaken, 
and his grandmother never told her son that 
she had again seen the Lake Lady. She kept 
a deep silence in the matter, and never again 
was the lady seen by any mortal eyes. 


124 


THE BEAVER STICK 
An American Indian Story 

A young Indian and his wife had died and 
gone to the Happy Hunting Grounds, leaving 
behind them one child, a little boy named 
Eagle Plume. The child, thus left alone, soon 
forgot all his mother’s care and teachings. He 
lived always like an animal, never washing or 
caring for himself, sleeping in a nest of grasses 
or a hollow tree, as the weather demanded, 
and eating only roots and berries, or such small 
game as he could catch with his hands. 

He grew up tall and strong and active, but 
he was so dirty and unkempt,that no one would 
have anything to do with him. He lived mostly 
in the forest by himself, seldom returning to the 
village and hi's people. 

One time he came back after a long and 
wearying hunting trip, and without saying a 

125 


THE BEAVER STICK 


word to any one threw himself down in the 
shade of a lodge to sleep. 

He was awakened after some hours by a sound 
of voices. A number of the girls of the village 
had gathered under a tree near by and were 
talking and laughing together. 

Presently their talk turned on the young 
men of the tribe. Each girl spoke for the one 
she liked best, praising him above the others 
for his strength, or cunning, or skill in hunting, 
or for his knowledge of magic. 

After they had been talking thus for some 
time, a girl named Laughing Water, who was 
always full of fun, cried, “Now we have each 
spoken for our choice. - But why has no one 
spoken for Eagle Plume ? Is he not the finest 
of them all ? So clean and graceful and so 
gentle in his manners. I am quite sure we all 
wish to claim him, but we are too shy.” 

There was a burst of laughter at this, but 
the daughter of the chief, the beautiful Black 
Raven, did not laugh. “ You do wrong to make 
fun of Eagle Plume,” she said in a clear, quiet 
voice. 

“ Every one knows he has never had any one 
126 


AN AMERICAN INDIAN STORY 


to care for him or teach him how to behave. 
I believe if he washed himself and dressed in a 
proper manner, he would be as handsome and 
fine looking as any one.” 

“I believe you must be in love with him,” 
cried one of the other girls. “ Do you mean to 
ask your father to give him to you for a hus¬ 
band?” 

There was another burst of laughter. 

“No, I know my father would not let him 
come to our lodge, and I myself would not wish 
to belong to Eagle Plume as long as he looks as 
he does, but if he would wash himself and stay 
with the tribe and behave like other people, I 
would be very willing to marry him.” 

The other girls were silent, staring at her with 
wonder or scorn, and without saying anything 
further Black Raven rose and left them. She 
returned to her father’s lodge, and set about 
her household tasks, and as she worked she 
thought over what she had said, and regretted 
nothing of it. 

As for Eagle Plume, he lay motionless in the 
shadow until the girls had all gone. Then he 
arose from where he lay and set off for the river. 

127 


THE BEAVER STICK 


He walked for some distance until he came to 
a place where the water gathered in a deep pool. 
Here he washed himself; he also washed his 
clothing and dried it in the sun. After that he 
arranged his hair and put an eagle’s plume in 
it and dressed himself in his clean clothes, and 
at once he appeared so handsome and graceful 
that there was not a man in the village who 
could equal him in beauty. 

Eagle Plume returned toward the village by a 
longer way than that by which he had come. 
This path led him past a spring where the 
maidens often came to fill their water-skins. 

Some one was stooping beside the spring now 
and filling a skin with water. 

She looked up as Eagle Plume drew near, 
and the young man saw that it was Black Raven. 
She gazed up at him, wondering. She did not 
know who this handsome stranger was, for she 
did not recognize him as Eagle Plume. Not 
until he spoke to her and called her by name 
did she know him. 

“Black Raven,” said he. “I heard what you 
said of me when you and the others were talk¬ 
ing under the tree. Is it indeed true that you 
128 


AN AMERICAN INDIAN STORY 


would be willing to take me for a husband if 
I dressed and behaved as do the other young 
men of the village ? ” 

“Yes, it is true,” answered Black Raven. 
“But I do not know whether my father would 
give his consent.” 

“I will not ask him now,” said Eagle Plume. 
“I will go away and do something to make me 
worthy of you, and then I will return and try 
to win you. Will you wait for me until that 
time?” 

“Yes, I will wait for you, and every day 
I will pray to the 1 Sun to help you,” answered 
Black Raven, and as she spoke a great love for 
the young man rose in her heart. 

“I will go, but I will also return,” said Eagle 
Plume, “for I know your prayers will be heard, 
and some time we will share a lodge together.” 

So saying, Eagle Plume turned and left her, 
disappearing in the shadows of the deep forest 
beyond, and Black Raven returned to her 
father’s lodge, silent and thoughtful. 

All that day and the next Eagle Plume jour¬ 
neyed on, traveling always toward the West, 
and at the end of the second day he came to the 
129 


THE BEAVER STICK 


edge of the forest and entered into a fertile 
valley. Here a stream that flowed down be¬ 
tween the hills spread into a wide pond, and in 
the midst of the pond rose a large beaver lodge. 

Eagle Plume decided to spend the night in 
this valley. He gathered great armfuls of the 
long grass that grew on the beaver dam and made 
a bed for himself. He also covered himself 
over as well as he could with the grasses, for 
the night was cold. He was just falling asleep 
when he was aroused by some sound, and looking 
up he saw a stranger standing beside him in the 
dusk. 

Eagle Plume sprang to his feet and looked at 
the stranger wonderingly. He was a young man of 
about the same age and height as Eagle Plume; 
he was richly dressed and his features were fine 
and noble, but there was something very 
curious about his appearance, — a sort of lus¬ 
trous whiteness that Eagle Plume could not 
understand. 

The stranger spoke to the young Indian in a 
gentle and friendly tone. 

“My father saw you making a bed beside the 
pond,” he said, “and has sent me to invite you 
130 


AN AMERICAN INDIAN STORY 


to spend the night in our lodge. The wind is 
cold, and the grasses make a poor covering. ,, 

Eagle Plume was surprised to hear there was 
a lodge so close by that he could be seen by the 
people living in it. He had looked all about 
him when he entered the valley, and had seen 
no signs of any human dwelling. 

“Gladly will I go with you to the lodge,” 
said he, “but where is it ? I see nothing of it.” 

“It is near by. Follow me, and I will lead 
you to it.” So saying, the stranger turned and 
walked out on the ice that had formed upon the 
pond for some distance out from the shore. 
Wondering, Eagle Plume followed him. Soon 
they came to the edge of the ice. Before them 
lay the black cold water, with the beaver’s lodge 
rising out of the midst of it. 

“My father lives in that lodge,” said the 
stranger, pointing to the beaver house. “In 
order to reach it, we will be obliged to dive down 
under the water. But do not be afraid. Follow 
me, and no harm will come to you.” 

So saying, he dived into the water and dis¬ 
appeared. Eagle Plume hesitated. The waters 
looked black and cold indeed, but he was brave 

131 


THE BEAVER STICK 


and daring, and almost at once he too plunged 
boldly into the pond. 

At first the chill of the waters caught his 
breath, but after a few strokes the water gave 
way before him, and he came out into a pleasant 
warmth and light. 

He opened his eyes and looked about him. He 
had come up through a pool into the center of 
the beaver lodge. About the pool dry earth 
sloped up to the walls of the lodge. His con¬ 
ductor had already stepped out of the water, 
and Eagle Plume followed him. He found 
that in spite of having come through the water, 
he and his clothing were perfectly dry; not 
even the soles of his moccasins were wet. 

Three other people besides himself and his 
conductor were in the lodge. These people were 
an old man, an old woman, and another young 
man so like Eagle Plume’s companion that he 
knew they must be brothers. 

These people were all very handsome and noble 
looking, but now Eagle Plume knew why the 
stranger had such a curious white appearance. 
He as well as all three of the others was com¬ 
pletely covered with very fine, soft, short, white 
132 


AN AMERICAN INDIAN STORY 


fur, and as Eagle Plume looked from one to 
another, he felt convinced that they were not 
Indians such as he knew, but beaver people 
who had taken on human form at their own wish 
and by means of some magic. 

As he stepped from the pool, the old man came 
forward and made him welcome, and bade 
him be seated on one of the beds that were 
ranged along the wall. The beds were covered 
with very handsome and richly colored robes, 
and against the walls, and from the roof, hung 
countless bags of magic, some very beautiful 
and strangely embroidered, and others worn 
and poor looking. 

There was a low opening at one side of the 
lodge, and through this the water of the pond 
flowed in, bearing with it all sorts of chips and 
pieces of bark and wood. These circled slowly 
around in the current of the pool and then 
floated on out into the night again with the 
flowing water. But one large beaver cutting 
remained always in the center of the pool, 
turning around and around and never floating 
away as did the others. 

The old man began talking to Eagle Plume, 

133 


THE BEAVER STICK 


and the young man listened politely, but he was 
growing very hungry, and would have been glad 
to see some preparations being made for supper. 

At last the old woman interrupted her hus¬ 
band, “Our guest has come a long way, and no 
doubt is hungry as well as tired.” 

“Aie! Aie!” cried the old man. “How 
forgetful I am. He shall be fed.” 

He arose and drew forward a pot that stood 
beside the wall, and set it over a fire that was 
burning on the far side of the lodge. He bent 
over the pool and took from it a handful of the 
floating bark and chips. These he broke into 
the pot, at the same time singing some curious 
song of magic, of which Eagle Plume could not 
understand the words. After this he sat down 
again on the bed. “ Supper will soon be ready,” 
he said calmly, and went on with his talk. 

Eagle Plume, who was growing hungrier and 
hungrier, felt very much disappointed. He 
had no wish to eat bark and wood, but it seemed 
that was all he was to have offered to him. 

Not long after the old woman arose and took 
the pot from the fire. “The supper is ready,” 
said she. 


134 


AN AMERICAN INDIAN STORY 


The old man motioned Eagle Plume toward 
the pot. 

“Eat, my son,” said he. “Help yourself 
freely. We ourselves have already fed.” 

Out of politeness Eagle Plume dipped his 
hand into the pot. What was his amazement 
to find it was full of the most delicious pemmi- 
can; when he tasted it he found it better than 
any he had ever eaten. 

He ate till he was satisfied, and then he and 
the others all went to bed, and his sleep was 
warm and sound among the rugs of the beaver’s 
lodge. 

The next day Eagle Plume wished to set out 
again upon his wanderings, but this his host 
would not agree to. 

“We do not often have guests,” said he. 
“ Stay here with us for a while, and you may learn 
more than you would from many years of 
journeyings.” 

To this Eagle Plume agreed. He was curious 
to see more of the life the beavers lived, and he 
also wished to learn something of the magic 
that he was sure was hidden in the many 
pouches he saw hanging in the lodge. 

I3S 


THE BEAVER STICK 


Several times during the day the young beaver 
men dived down into the pool and disappeared. 
When they returned they brought news of the 
outside world. They always were perfectly 
dry when they stepped out of the pool, in spite 
of having come through the water. 

Toward evening they returned for the last 
time and reported that the whole surface of the 
pond was covered with ice. They had been 
unable to break their way up through it. 

“Hai-aie!” exclaimed the old man. “That 
is well! Now our guest will be obliged to re¬ 
main with us for the rest of the winter.” 

Eagle Plume also was well content. Even 
in the short time he had been there he had be¬ 
come convinced that the beavers knew more 
magic than even the wisest man in his own tribe. 

In the days that followed the young Indian 
learned many curious things from the beavers. 
They spent the most of the day in making long 
prayers or singing sacred songs to their magic, 
and after a while Eagle Plume began to learn 
something of the uses of these prayers and 
songs. 

One thing only troubled Eagle Plume. As 
136 


AN AMERICAN INDIAN STORY 


the days passed by, he found that he also was 
becoming covered with fine short white fur like 
his hosts. The fur kept him very warm, but he 
did not know how he could return to the village 
and his people unless he could rid himself of 
this covering. How could he expect Black Rav¬ 
en to marry him if he remained furry like an 
animal ? 

Gradually the winter slipped away. Spring 
was approaching. One day the young beavers 
dived down into the pool, and when they returned 
they reported that the ice was breaking away, 
and that they had been able to’ swim to the 
shore. 

“Hai-ai!” cried the old man. “Then soon 
our guest will be leaving us. I will go outside 
and see what are the signs of spring. ,, 

He dived down into the pool, and his two sons 
followed him. The old woman and Eagle 
Plume were left alone in the tent. At once the 
old woman drew close to him and began talk¬ 
ing to him in a low, eager voice. 

“Listen, my son,” said she. “It is as my 
husband says. Soon you will be leaving us. 
You have been kind and respectful to me, and 
137 


THE BEAVER STICK 


I wish to do you a good turn. Before you go 
he will offer you as a farewell gift your choice of 
any magic or medicine that is in the lodge. Do 
not be tempted by anything he may offer. Ask 
for the old beaver cutting that floats in the mid¬ 
dle of the pond. It is full of magic and is more 
powerful than all the other magics put together. 
He will try to persuade you to choose something 
else, but you must not be deceived—” She 
would have said more, but at this moment the 
waters of the pool were disturbed, and the beaver 
chief rose out of them, his sons following him. 
The old man looked suspiciously from his wife 
to the young Indian, but the woman busied 
herself with some household task and pretended 
not to notice his look. 

“It is true that the ice has broken/’ said the 
old man. “Soon the beavers will be gathering 
for their work. We can no longer keep our 
guest with us.” He then turned to Eagle 
Plume. “You shall not go from us empty- 
handed,” said he. “See all these beautiful 
magics and medicines there are in the lodge. 
Choose from among them any one you please. 
Whichever you choose shall be yours.” 

138 


AN AMERICAN INDIAN STORY 

Eagle Plume pretended to consider. He 
looked from one to another of the pouches that 
hung on the wall. Then, suddenly pointing 
to the pool, he said, “I will take that beaver 
cutting.” 

The old beaver scowled. “Why should you 
want that useless old piece of wood ?” he asked. 
“No! No! Take one of these beautiful bags 
of medicine, and I will teach you the prayers 
and songs that belong to it so that you can make 
much magic.” 

“No,” said Eagle Plume, “I will choose the 
beaver cutting.” 

The old chief began to argue with him. 
“Why are you so foolish ? What could you do 
with that piece of wood ? I intend to do you 
a favor, and to teach you magic that will make 
you great among your tribe. Do you see that 
beautiful pouch hanging over your bed ? That 
contains very powerful magic. Take that, and 
I will teach you the songs and prayers that be¬ 
long to it.” 

Eagle Plume was greatly tempted by the 
pouch. It was indeed very beautiful, and he had 
no doubt but what the old man spoke truth of 
139 


THE BEAVER STICK 


it when he said that it contained very powerful 
magic. Suddenly he caught the eyes of the old 
woman. She shook her head slightly, and with 
one finger she motioned toward the floating 
piece of wood. 

“You told me to choose whatever I wished,” 
cried Eagle Plume boldly, “and I have asked 
for the beaver cutting. That is what I wish to 
have, and that only.” 

Sweat broke out on the old man’s forehead. 
He began to beg and plead with Eagle Plume. 
“Do not ask for that piece of wood,” he begged. 
“Take anything else — anything that my lodge 
contains. Only choose and it is yours.” 

Eagle Plume waited till the old man was 
silent. “I will take the beaver cutting,” he re¬ 
peated. 

The old man cried aloud at this, as though 
with great grief. “You have asked for it four 
times,” he said, “and that is the sacred number. 
I can no longer refuse it to you. And now I will 
tell you you have chosen wisely. That beaver 
cutting is the most powerful magic I possess. 
But there are forty prayers and forty songs 
that go with it, and you cannot carry it away 
140 


AN AMERICAN INDIAN STORY 


until you learn them. You will have to stay 
with us a month longer that I may teach them 
to you.” 

So Eagle Plume remained with the beavers 
another month, and by the end of that time he 
had learned the forty prayers and songs that 
belonged with this magic cutting, and was ready 
to set forth. 

“Now I will tell you one other thing,” said 
the old man. “After you leave, you must not 
look back. If you look back the beaver cutting 
will leave you and return to me, and you can 
never regain it. Hang it about your neck under 
your shirt and let no one see it. If you do this 
and if you do not look back, great good fortune 
will be yours.” 

Eagle Plume thanked the old man for his 
advice. 

He hung the beaver cutting about his neck 
so that it hung down under his shirt, and 
bidding the beavers farewell he stepped down 
into the pool. The waters rose higher and 
higher about him till they were over his head. 
He dived down into them and struck out for 
the shore. 


THE BEAVER STICK 


When he rose to the surface, he found him¬ 
self close to the place where he had made his 
bed of grasses some months before. A few 
moments later he stepped out on dry land. 

At once he felt the most violent desire to look 
back at the beaver’s lodge. The wish to do so 
was so great that it was like pain. It seemed as 
though all the magics left in the lodge were 
calling him. He felt the wish was stronger than 
he could resist. 

Suddenly Eagle Plume remembered the beaver 
cutting. He took it in his hand and muttered 
a prayer, and at once all desire to look behind 
him ceased. He fixed his eyes on the forest 
beyond and strode on toward it at a rapid 
pace. » 

It had taken Eagle Plume two days to reach 
the valley. He hoped to return to the village 
in the same time. But he had forgotten the 
changes brought about by the spring weather. 
On his way through the forest to the valley he 
had been obliged to wade a stream. The water 
was then up to his armpits. Now when he came 
to the stream again, he saw the melting snows 
had swollen it to a raging torrent. 

142 


AN AMERICAN INDIAN STORY 


Eagle Plume stood on the bank looking at it 
gloomily. It was impossible to wade it. To 
try to swim was dangerous, and yet he was un¬ 
willing to wait until the stream had fallen low 
enough for him to cross. 

Again he remembered the beaver cutting. 

He took it from his bosom and laid it on the 
ground, and began the prayers and songs of 
magic he had learned in the beaver’s lodge. 

As he prayed and sang, the cutting began to 
grow and swell and take shape. By the time he 
had made an end of his chanting, the piece of 
wood had become an enormous white beaver, 
with flame-colored eyes. 

“Aie! aie!” cried Eagle Plume. “Now help 
me with your magic. I can neither wade nor 
swim through this torrent. How can I cross 
to the other side ? ” 

“You must make a raft,” replied the beaver. 
“I will cut the trees and you must bind them to¬ 
gether. In this way you may cross without 
fear.” 

At once the beaver set to work gnawing at 
trees. One after another they fell as his magic 
teeth cut through them. Fast as Eagle Plume 
143 


THE BEAVER STICK 


could work, the beaver worked still faster. After 
a time the raft was done. 

“Take me up in your hands and lift me from 
the earth,” said the beaver. 

Eagle Plume did so, and at once the beaver 
changed back into a piece of wood, and Eagle 
Plume hung it about his neck as before. He 
crossed the stream on the raft without trouble, 
and again journeyed forward. 

The next day he came to the edge of the forest 
and within sight of the village, but he dared not 
venture further. He feared to have the people 
see him, covered as he was with fur. He again 
took out the cutting and made his prayers 
and chantings. 

Again it turned into a beaver. Eagle Plume 
asked how he could get rid of the fur that covered 
him. 

“Go to yonder hill and sit there, until you see 
some one approaching/’ replied the beaver. 
“Then cover yourself with a blanket so they can¬ 
not see you, and call to them to take a message 
from you to the chief of the tribe. They are to 
tell him to make four sweat lodges for you. 
When the lodges are made let them return and 
144 


AN AMERICAN INDIAN STORY 


tell you. Go and pray in these lodges as the 
beaver man taught you, and all the fur will 
drop from you.” 

Eagle Plume took up the beaver and it again 
became a piece of wood. He hung it about his 
neck and did as it had instructed him. He went 
over and sat upon the hill until he saw two or 
three of the young men of the village coming 
toward him. Eagle Plume muffled himself in 
his blanket and called to them to listen to him 
but not to come too near. 

The young men halted where they were, 
looking with wonder at the man who sat there 
all crouched together, with his face covered, and 
dressed in such magnificent robes. 

“Listen!” cried Eagle Plume. “I am Eagle 
Plume, and I have wandered far and learned 
great magic with which to instruct the village. 
Go to your chief, the father of Black Raven, 
and tell him to build for me four sweat lodges. 
When they are finished let me know. Then 
I will come and pray in them, and afterward 
I will show the tribe great things.” 

When the young men heard this they won¬ 
dered more than ever, but Eagle Plume spoke 
145 


THE BEAVER STICK 


with such authority they dared not disobey him. 
They hastened back to the village and recounted 
to the chief all that Eagle Plume had said to 
them. 

The chief listened in silence. When they had 
made an end of speaking, he said, “It is well. 
I will do as Eagle Plume desires.” 

At once he had four sweat lodges built, and 
stones heated and placed in them. He then 
sent word to Eagle Plume to come; that the 
lodges were ready. 

Eagle Plume arose from where he sat, and 
with the blanket still held before his face, he 
made his way through the village. Crowds had 
gathered to see him pass, but there was such a 
feeling of awe about his muffled figure that 
none dared to touch him or speak to him. 

Eagle Plume entered the first of the lodges 
and threw aside his robes. He poured water 
on the hot stones, and as the steam arose he 
made his magic. and sang the sacred songs the 
old beaver man had taught him. As he sang 
the fur came off from his face and neck as far 
down as his breast but no farther. When he 
had made an end of his prayers and songs he 
146 


AN AMERICAN INDIAN STORY 


wrapped his blanket about him again, and went 
on to the next lodge. 

After he had left the first lodge, the people 
went into it and looked about. They were 
greatly surprised to find a heap of fine, silvery 
white fur lying there on the floor. 

In the second lodge Eagle Plume again made 
his magic and offered up prayer, and the fur 
dropped off from his arms and his body as far 
down as the loins. In the third sweat lodge he 
prayed for the third time, and the fur fell off 
from him as far down as his knees; and in the 
fourth lodge he prayed and sang for the fourth 
and last time, and all the rest of the fur came 
off him and left his body fair and smooth and 
shining. 

Then Eagle Plume came out from the lodge, 
and the people who were waiting were amazed 
at the sight of his beauty and strength and grace. 
Not a maiden there but would have been glad 
to have him for a husband. 

But Eagle Plume did not so much as glance at 
them except as his look passed over them in his 
search for Black Raven. When he saw her he 
went to her side and took her by the hand. 

147 


THE BEAVER STICK 


“I have learned much wisdom and magic ,” 
said he, “and I have also learned to dress and 
live as other men, and this I have done for the 
sake of Black Raven, and because I wished to 
have her for a wife.” 

When the chief heard this he was glad. 
“Go to my lodge, my children,” said he. “The 
lodge and all that is in it are yours.” 

So Eagle Plume and Black Raven went away 
to the lodge while the people stared after them, 
and they entered in and took possession and 
were married and Black Raven bore many 
children to Eagle Plume, and Eagle Plume be¬ 
came the greatest man in all the tribe, respected 
by his companions and feared by all his enemies. 


148 


THE ENCHANTED WATERFALL 
A Japanese Story 

There was once a good and dutiful youth 
named Urishima who worked hard and long 
every day to support his parents, who were old 
and quite helpless, but work as he might, he was 
only able to supply them with the poorest sort 
of food and clothing. 

His mother was quite content with this and 
was always cheerful, but his father did nothing 
but complain from morning till night, and was 
always reproaching his son because he could not 
do better for him. 

“I do not know how it is,” he would say. 
“When I was young, I was able to supply my 
parents with everything they wished, and here 
my son gives me nothing but the poorest sort 
of food, and not even a cup of saki . 1 If I could 

1 A Japanese drink, of which they are very fond. 

149 


THE ENCHANTED WATERFALL 


only have a cup of good saki now and then, I 
would be content. I think it is very hard that 
we have to live so miserably. I would never 
have allowed my father to go without his cup 
of saki, however poor I was.” 

When the father talked in this way, Urishima 
felt very sad. He would go out and work harder 
than ever, but for all his work he could earn but 
a small sum each day. 

One time the son went into the forest to cut 
wood. He went to a place where he had often 
gone before. He gathered together a great 
load of wood, as much as he could possibly 
carry, and bound it around with a cord. The 
day was hot and the sweat ran down his fore¬ 
head. He was thirsty, too, but he knew there 
was no spring or stream anywhere near. 

He stopped to rest and wipe the sweat from 
his forehead before starting homeward with his 
load. He wiped away the sweat with his sleeve. 
Suddenly, as he stood there, he heard the sound 
of a waterfall close by. Urishima was very 
much surprised. Often as he had been there, 
he had never heard or seen any water any¬ 
where near. 

150 


A JAPANESE STORY 


He went a little farther into the wood and 
came to a high heap of rocks. They had always 
been dry before, but now a stream of shining 
water poured down over them. It seemed like 
magic. 

However, magic or not, the water looked cool 
and clear. So he took a cup he had brought with 
him and filled it and lifted it to his lips to drink. 
What was his amazement to find the cup was 
filled, not with water at all, but with the most 
delicious saki. Urishima could hardly believe 
it, but it was so. Filling the cup to the brim, 
he hastened home with it to his father. 

When he entered the house, his father looked 
at him with a frown and immediately began to 
complain. “Why have you left your work so 
early ? Where is the wood you were to have 
brought home ? How can you expect to succeed 
in the world if you only work an hour or so and 
then come home to rest ?” 

“My father, taste this saki,” cried Urishima, 
“and tell me whether it is not good.” 

“Saki!” cried the old man. “What do you 
mean ? Where have you been able to get any 
saki?” 


THE ENCHANTED WATERFALL 

He took the cup from his son’s hands and 
set it to his lips. He tasted and looked surprised. 
He tasted again, smacking his lips. Then his 
face beamed with delight. “My dear son,” 
cried he, “ where did you get this ? Never 
before in my life have I tasted such delicious 
saki. I do not believe even the Emperor him¬ 
self has better.” 

Urishima told his father the whole story. The 
old man found it hard to believe. “You have 
always been a truthful lad,” said he, “and yet 
I can hardly think this thing is possible! If, 
however, it is really so, it is nothing less than a 
miracle.” 

“It is indeed the truth I have told you,” 
answered his son, “though I myself find it hard 
to believe.” 

The old man continued to sip the saki. While 
there was still quite a quantity left in the cup 
a neighbor came in, and the old man invited 
him to taste it. 

The neighbor tasted and was delighted with 
it. “Where did you get this?” he asked. 
“Was it a present from some great nobleman? 
I could not buy any such in the shops.” 

152 


A JAPANESE STORY 

The old man repeated to the neighbor the 
story that Urishima had told him. 

“This is a strange story,” said the man. He 
turned to Urishima and questioned him closely. 

The boy repeated the story exactly as he had 
told it before, and as it had happened. The 
neighbor became very thoughtful, and soon 
after he went away. 

A little later another neighbor came in and 
heard the story and tasted the saki, and then 
another and another. Before long, the story 
spread through the village, and any one who 
could make any excuse came in to taste the saki 
and question Urishima. By evening the saki was 
all gone, and the last of the people who came in 
could only smell the empty cup and judge by 
that of how very good the saki must have been. 

The next morning the old man aroused 
Urishima very early. “My son,” said he, 
“take this pitcher, the largest we have in the 
house, and go out to the waterfall and fill it 
with saki. We will have a great many visitors 
to-day, and I would feel ashamed if we were not 
able to offer each one of them a drink.” 

Urishima arose, dressed himself, and took the 
153 


THE ENCHANTED WATERFALL 


pitcher, and hastened away to the forest. It 
was so early that the village appeared to be 
sleeping as he went through it, but as he ap¬ 
proached the waterfall he saw that some one 
was there before him. It was the neighbor who 
had been the first to taste the saki. He had just 
arrived at the waterfall, and he had brought with 
him a pitcher even larger than the one Uri- 
shima carried. Before he could fill it, another 
neighbor came hastening through the forest, 
and then another and another and still more. 
They all carried pitchers and pots and buckets, 
and anything they had that would hold the 
most. 

Urishima hid behind the rocks to look and 
listen. 

The first neighbors who arrived looked rather 
ashamed as they saw each other. 

“Well,” said the one who had come first, 
“I see we are here on the same errand. And 
why should we not have some of the saki as 
well as the old man ? Urishima does not own 
the waterfall.” 

“That is true,” said another. 

And — “True ! True !” cried the others. 

154 


A JAPANESE STORY 

One of the last to come, a bustling and lively 
little man, hastened forward and would have 
filled his pitcher at once, but the others withheld 
him. “It is not your turn,” they cried. “You 
came last, and yet you expect to drink first.” 

“ But look! your pitcher is a great deal larger 
than mine, and so is his, and his,” — and the 
little neighbor pointed to others of the villagers. 
“If you fill all those large pitchers first there 
may be nothing left for us who only expect to 
take a little.” 

The men began to argue and dispute among 
themselves, but at last it was decided that the 
neighbor who had come first should fill his 
pitcher first, and then the others, according to 
the order in which they had come. 

The first comer now stepped briskly forward 
to the waterfall. 

He filled his pitcher, and lifting it, he took a 
deep drink from it. At once a look of surprise 
and then of disappointment and then of anger 
appeared upon his face. He spat out a mouthful 
on the ground. 

“What is the matter?” asked the neighbors 
who were watching him. “ Is not the saki good?” 
iS5 


THE ENCHANTED WATERFALL 


“Saki! This is not saki.” 

“ Not saki! What is it, then ? ” 

“Water ! What else should one expect to get 
from a waterfall ? ” 

“But Urishima told us —” 

“That Urishima is a rascal. If we had not 
all been simpletons we would not have believed 
him. And yet he told his tale so seriously 
any one might have been deceived.” 

“You mean it is only water ?” 

“Yes.” 

“Not saki at all ?” 

“No.” 

The other villagers now made haste to fill 
their pitchers at the waterfall, but when they 
drank they found that not any one of them had 
anything but water in his pitcher, and not very 
good water at that. 

They were furious. “He has deceived us!” 
they cried. “He has made a mock of us. No 
doubt he is comfortably in bed at this very 
moment and laughing at us for our pains.” 

This thought made them so angry that they 
began to think how they could punish him. 
“Let us go and get him and give him a good 


A JAPANESE STORY 

beating. No, let us duck him. Yes, we will 
drag him here to the waterfall and duck him. 
He shall see that this is not so fine a joke 
as he thought. We will half drown him in his 
‘ saki/ ” 

Urishima, hearing them as he stood behind 
the rocks, was terrified. He was afraid to stay 
where he was, and walking very softly, he tried 
to make off through the forest. He would have 
done better to have stayed hidden, for suddenly 
one of the neighbors caught sight of him, and 
raised a shout. “ There he goes! There he 
goes, the saki drinker. Catch him! Duck 
him ! Throw him into his own waterfall! ” 

The men ran after the boy and surrounded 
him and dragged him back to the waterfall. 

“ Indeed, indeed, I did not deceive you,” 
cried Urishima. He was trembling all over, and 
half weeping. “It was here I filled my cup — 
at this very waterfall — and it was saki and not 
water that I drew from it, as you yourselves 
can testify.” 

“Very well,” said the first neighbor. “If 
you did it once, you can do it again. Fill your 
pitcher from the waterfall. If saki flows into 
157 


THE ENCHANTED WATERFALL 

it, well and good; but if water, then you shall 
be punished as you deserve.” 

Trembling, Urishima filled his pitcher as they 
bade him and handed it to the neighbor. The 
man lifted it up and drank from it. A look of 
wonder came over his face. “The boy spoke 
the truth,” he cried. “It is indeed saki, and 
that of the best.” 

One after another the neighbors drank from 
the boy’s pitcher and were convinced it was 
indeed full of saki. 

But only Urishima was able to obtain that 
drink from the waterfall. When the others 
tried again, their pitchers still only filled with 
water. Nor was Urishima himself able to fill 
their pitchers with saki for them. It was only 
in his own pitcher that the water became that 
most delicious drink. 

The neighbors now looked upon the good 
son with the greatest respect. They went 
home with him to his father and recounted to 
the old man all that had happened. They also 
told him he had a very wonderful son and ought 
to prize him as he deserved. 

After that Urishima lived on quietly in the 
158 


A JAPANESE STORY 

village as before, though there was much talk 
about his wondrous power. He could draw a 
pitcher full of saki from the waterfall every day, 
but only once a day could he do this. If he 
filled the pitcher more than once, he obtained 
only water. In time the rumors of his wonder¬ 
working power came to the ears of the Emperor 
himself. One day a great train of magnificently 
dressed courtiers and noblemen appeared in the 
little village and stopped before the house where 
Urishima lived. In the midst of them rode no 
less a person than the Emperor himself. He 
commanded the boy to show them the way to 
the waterfall and to draw a cup of saki for 
the Emperor to taste. 

This the lad did, and when the Emperor 
tasted the saki and found all he had heard was 
true, he was filled with wonder and admiration. 
He took Urishima home with him to his palace 
and made him a great nobleman, and kept him 
always close to his own person, and from then 
on Urishima lived beloved and honored by all, 
and his old father and mother never had a wish 
that he was not able to gratify. 


159 


FAIR, BROWN, AND TREMBLING 
An Irish Tale 

There was once a king in Ireland named 
l Edh Curucha, and he had three daughters. 
The name of the eldest was Fair, and the name 
of the next was Brown, and the name of the 
youngest was Trembling. They all looked alike, 
and they were all beautiful, but Trembling 
was the loveliest of the three. For that reason 
Fair and Brown were jealous of her, and would 
not let her go with them either to church or 
fairing. They kept her in the kitchen, and she 
had only rags to wear and scraps to eat. 

Thus they lived for seven years, and at the 
end of that time the son of the King of Omanya 
saw Fair, and he fell in love with her, for she was 
the most beautiful woman in the world when 
Trembling was away, and Brown was the next 
most beautiful. 

160 


AN IRISH TALE 


One day Fair and Brown were to go to Mass, 
and they made themselves fine, for the son of 
the King of Omanya was to be there. After 
they had washed and arranged their hair and 
put on their best dresses they set out, and Trem¬ 
bling was left to cook the dinner against the time 
they came home. 

Now there was a little old brown woman who 
had care of the hens, and Trembling had often 
been kind to her. This little old henwife had 
magic powers, though no one knew it. 

After the older sisters had set out she came to 
Trembling, and says she, “Would you not like 
to go to church, too ? ” 

“Yes, I would like to go,” answered Trem¬ 
bling, “but how could I do that with nothing 
but rags to wear ? ” 

“And what kind of a robe would you wear if 
you had your choice ? ” asked the henwife. 

“I would have a white satin dress that shone 
like silver, and green shoes to my feet.” 

“Then you shall have them, and you shall 
have a horse to ride on as well,” said the henwife. 

The old woman went down to the henhouse 
and took a cloak of magic that she had hidden 
161 


FAIR, BROWN, AND TREMBLING 

there, and put it on. When she went back to 
the kitchen she wished for a satin robe as bright 
as silver, and green shoes, and she wished that 
a snow-white steed with a silver saddle and 
bridle should be standing at the door. 

At once all these things appeared as if out of 
nowhere at all. The henwife told Trembling 
these things were for her, and she helped 
Trembling to dress herself and mount upon her 
horse, and she put a honey bird on Trembling’s 
right shoulder and a honey finger on her left 
shoulder, and then she was so lovely that she 
shone like a star for beauty. 

Away she rode to the church, and she lighted 
down and went inside. Every head turned to 
look at her, and when the king’s son saw her 
— the son of the King of Omanya — his heart 
turned right over in his bosom, and Fair was 
entirely forgotten in the love that came over 
him for the beautiful stranger. 

He had meant to speak to her when they came 
out from church, but just before Mass was over, 
Trembling slipped outside and mounted her 
horse and rode away again, before any one could 
stop her. 


AN IRISH TALE 


When the King’s son came out from Mass, he 
could not see her anywhere. He would have 
been sick for sorrow over that, but he hoped the 
stranger would be at Mass again the next week, 
and he meant to be there to meet her. 

When Trembling reached home the dinner 
was cooked, and the henwife took away her fine 
robe and her horse and gave her her rags again. 

Presently, with a great clattering and noise 
of talking, in came Fair and Brown, and Trem¬ 
bling was basting the meat at the time. 

“And have you brought any news home with 
you ? ” she asked. 

“Oh, there was a most beautiful lady at church, 
and all eyes were for her, and the son of the King 
of Omanya looked at no one else,” said Brown; 
but Fair only tossed her head and would not 
say anything. 

Fair and Brown had white robes made, as 
much as possible like those the stranger had worn, 
and they begged and begged till their father 
gave each of them a fine white horse to ride, and 
Trembling got nothing but an extra word or 
so. 

The two elder sisters looked fine enough when 
163 


FAIR, BROWN, AND TREMBLING 

they next went to Mass, but they had no honey 
birds and honey fingers on their shoulders, so 
they did not shine with beauty as Trembling 
had done. 

After they had gone, the old henwife came to 
Trembling again. 

“ Would you like to go to Mass again all 
finely dressed as you were before ? ” 

“That I would,” answered Trembling. 

“And what sort of a robe and a horse will you 
have this time ? ” 

“ I would like a black satin robe, and red shoes 
to my feet, and a black horse so sleek and shining 
that you can see your face in his hide, and I 
would like him to have a golden saddle and a 
golden bridle.” 

“You shall have all of that,” answered the 
old woman. 

She went away and got the cloak of magic, 
and when she came back she put it on, and 
wished for Trembling a black satin dress, and 
red shoes, and a shiny black horse to ride, and 
as soon as she wished for the things they ap¬ 
peared. 

She helped Trembling dress, and mount on 

164 


AN IRISH TALE 


the horse, and she set the honey bird on her 
right shoulder and the honey finger on her left, 
and now Trembling was even more beautiful 
than she had been the first time, and away she 
rode to Mass. 

When she came to the church, every one 
turned around to look at her, and the King’s son 
could scarcely stay where he was he wanted 
so much to be beside her. The moment she 
slipped out of the church he hurried after her, 
but she was too quick for him. She sprang on 
her horse and rode away, and though he ran 
after her for more than a mile he could not catch 
her. 

When he went home he was so sad he was like 
to be ill with his sadness, and with his longing 
for the beautiful stranger. 

Trembling had no dinner to cook that day 
either. The old henwife had it all ready when 
she came home. The old woman took away 
the fine clothes and the black horse and gave 
Trembling her rags again, and when the two 
older sisters came home there was Trembling 
basting the meat, and looking as though she 
had never been out of the kitchen. 

165 


FAIR, BROWN, AND TREMBLING 

“What is the news to-day ?” she asked. 

Brown told her all about the stranger who had 
come to Mass again that day, and even Fair 
could not forbear from talking about her. 
“She must be some queen, or the daughter of 
some king,” said she. 

The two older sisters had black satin robes 
made for themselves, and red shoes, and they 
begged and teased until their father gave a 
black horse to each of them. That was the way 
they rode to Mass the next time, but they had 
no honey birds nor honey fingers, so they were 
not beautiful the way Trembling had been. 

After they had gone, the old henwife came to 
Trembling for the third time. “And how would 
you like to be dressed to-day ? ” she asked. 

“I would like a dress that is rose red from the 
waist down and silver white from the waist 
up, and I would like a grass-green cloak to wear 
with it and a hat with a green, a white and a 
red feather in it, and I would like a pair of shoes 
with green toes and white in the middle, and 
with red heels and backs.” 

“And what sort of a horse will you have to 
ride?” 


166 


AN IRISH TALE 


“A white horse with diamond-shaped spots 
of green and gold.” 

The henwife gave her all these things and put 
a honey bird on her right shoulder and a honey 
finger on her left shoulder, and she gave her a 
little bird to sit on the horse’s head. As soon as 
Trembling mounted the horse the bird began 
to sing, and never stopped from the moment 
they left home until they were safe back again. 

When Trembling reached the church, she 
did not go inside, but waited just outside the 
door. All the same every head was turned to 
catch a glimpse of her, and every ear was filled 
with the sweet sound of the bird’s singing. 
Many princes and fine lords were in the church 
that day, for the fame of Trembling’s beauty had 
gone abroad throughout the land, and every one 
was anxious to catch a glimpse of her and have a 
word with her. 

No sooner was the Mass over than Trembling 
sprang into the saddle and rode away. All 
the people came pouring out from the church, 
to look after her, but the son of the King of 
Omanya was out before any of them, and he 
ran so swiftly that he overtook Trembling and 
167 


FAIR, BROWN, AND TREMBLING 

caught her by the foot. He ran beside her so 
for over a mile, all the while begging her to stop 
and talk with him a bit, but Trembling would 
not look at him or speak, for she was afraid of 
what might come to her from her sisters. 

So the mare went faster and faster, and the 
bird sang louder and louder, and at the end of 
two miles the king’s son was obliged to stop for 
loss of breath. All the same he had been able 
to pull the shoe off from Trembling’s foot, and 
when she rode on and left him he still had it in 
his hand. 

When Trembling reached home she was so 
vexed and troubled that the old henwife did not 
know what had happened to her. 

“Why look you so pale and troubled?” 
said she. “What has come over you ?” 

“Oh,” said Trembling, “I’ve lost one of the 
shoes from off my foot, and I fear some trouble 
will come from it.” 

“Never mind about that,” said the henwife. 
“This may be more good luck than bad. Strip 
off your fine things and get to your cooking, 
for your sisters will soon be here.” 

So Trembling took off her fine clothes and put 
168 


AN IRISH TALE 


on her rags again, and when her sisters came 
home there she was, basting the meat, with a 
black smudge across one of her cheeks. 

“ Well, and was the fine lady at Mass again to¬ 
day ? ” she asked. 

Oh, yes, she had been there, and finer and more 
beautiful than ever. All the men were crazy 
over her. 

Moreover the son of the King of Omanya had 
stolen the shoe from off her foot, and now he 
vowed and declared that he would never marry 
any but the one to whom the shoe belonged, 
and who could wear it. 

When Trembling heard that saying she was 
glad and she was sorry. She was glad because 
the king’s son loved her so, and she was sorry 
because she did not know what her sisters might 
do if they guessed she was the one who owned 
the shoe. 

But the king’s son lost no time in starting out 
to find the beauty. He set out traveling through 
all the land in search of her, taking the shoe 
with him. Every girl in the kingdom wanted 
to have a try at wearing it, but it fitted none of 
them. For some it was too short, and for some 
169 


FAIR, BROWN, AND TREMBLING 

it was too narrow. Some could get the shoe 
half over the foot, but the most of them could 
barely get their toes into it. 

At last the king’s son came round to the house 
of Trembling’s father. The older sisters were 
crazy to have a try at wearing the shoe, but when 
the king’s son came to the door they locked 
Trembling into a closet, for they did not want 
him to see her. 

The king’s son alighted from his horse and 
came in, and the two sisters were ready for him. 
First Fair took the shoe and tried it on, but she 
could not get her heel down into it. Then 
Brown took it and tried it on her foot, but it 
squeezed her toes so that she had to cry out for 
the pain of it. 

“I can see that the shoe belongs to neither 
of you,” said the king’s son. “ But is there not 
some one else in your house who would like to 
have a try at it ? ” 

The elder sisters were about to answer no, 
but Trembling called through the crack of the 
door, “Here am I in the closet, and it may be 
the shoe will fit my foot.” 

The sisters were very angry, but they were 
170 


AN IRISH TALE 


obliged to let her out. Then she took the shoe 
and slipped it on, and it fitted her exactly. 
After that she took the mate to it out from 
under her rags and put it on too, and then she 
stood before the king’s son, so beautiful and 
gentle looking that the prince’s heart melted 
within him. 

He took her by the hand and kissed her on 
the mouth, and he said, “You are indeed my own 
true love, and you and you only shall be my 
bride.” 

So the king’s son and Trembling were married, 
and the wedding lasted for a year and a day, 
and there was great rejoicing. 

Now after a while it came time for Trembling’s 
child to be born, and she sent for her sister Fair 
to come and be with her at that time. 

Fair was glad enough to come, for Trembling 
was now a fine princess living in a castle, and 
Fair hoped to get some of the good things that 
were hers to give. After Fair came to the 
castle she was always kissing her sister and 
making much of her, and Trembling had no 
thought but that Fair loved her and wished well 
to her in every way. 

171 


FAIR, BROWN, AND TREMBLING 

In due time the child was born, and it was a 
little girl, so beautiful that she was the wonder 
of all who saw her. 

One day Fair said to Trembling, “Let us go 
and take a walk on the cliffs by the sea, for it 
is a fine day, and it will be pleasant there.” 

To this Trembling agreed, thinking no evil. 

She and Fair went out to the cliffs and walked 
there, and Fair put Trembling between her and 
the sea. They walked along, always closer 
and closer to the edge, and when they came to 
where the cliffs were highest and the sea deepest 
Fair pushed Trembling over the edge, so that 
she fell down into the sea, and a great whale 
came and swallowed her up, and sank down 
under the waters with her. 

Fair went back to the castle and dressed her¬ 
self in Trembling’s clothes, and put on Trem¬ 
bling’s jewels, and arranged her hair as Trembling 
had been used to wear hers, and then she looked 
almost exactly like Trembling, only not so beau¬ 
tiful. 

A little later the prince came to the apart¬ 
ment to see his wife and his little daughter, and 
Fair greeted him tenderly just as Trembling 
172 


AN IRISH TALE 


always had done, and with the same words 
Trembling had been used to use. 

The king’s son looked at her, doubting and 
troubled, for though she looked like Trembling 
and wore her clothes and jewels, her eyes were 
hard and cold, and not gentle and timid as 
Trembling’s eyes had been. 

“Are you my dear wife Trembling ? ” he asked 
of her. “Or are you Fair ? ” 

“Oh my dear husband! How can you ask 
such a thing! I am Trembling, and Fair has 
gone back to Ballyshannon. Our father fell 
ill, and they sent for her in haste, so I gave her 
a horse, and she has ridden home again.” 

The king’s son believed her and yet he did 
not believe her, and he went away troubled in¬ 
stead of staying to talk with her and make 
much of her as he had always done with 
Trembling. 

Now there was a little boy about the castle 
who had charge of the cows, and it was his duty 
to drive them out to graze every day. He was 
grazing them near the cliffs the day Fair pushed 
Trembling into the sea, and he saw all that 
happened, and he saw how the whale swallowed 
173 


FAIR, BROWN, AND TREMBLING 

Trembling, but he said nothing about it to any 
one, for he was afraid. 

The next day he was watching the cows not 
far from the same place, and suddenly he saw 
the whale roll up out of the depths of the sea. 
It came close to the shore and it spewed Trem¬ 
bling out on the sand; then it disappeared 
down under the sea again. 

The little cowherd was terribly frightened, 
but Trembling called to him not to be afraid. 

“When you go back to the castle,” said she, 
“do you seek out the king’s son, and give him 
a message for me. Tell him what has happened 
to me, and tell him the whale has done me no 
harm as yet, but he has me under an enchant¬ 
ment so that I cannot leave this strip of sand. 
Three times he will come here and spew me out 
on the land, and toward evening he will come and 
swallow me again. This is the first time. Twice 
more will he come, and unless the king’s son 
can rescue me in that time, I will be lost to him 
forever. Tell him to come here to-morrow and 
to bring with him a gun and a silver bullet. 
After the whale has spit me out he must wait 
till the beast comes again to get me. When the 
174 


The little cowherd was terribly frightened. Page 174. 























































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AN IRISH TALE 


whale comes, it will roll over on its side to take 
me. Then he will see a small reddish spot 
under its breast fin. He must shoot it through 
that red spot with a silver bullet, and unless he 
does that he will never get me back again.” 

When Trembling had said this the whale came 
back and swallowed her again, and swam away 
with her. 

The little cowherd started back toward the 
castle, and on the way he met Fair. He had 
such a queer look on his face that Fair stopped 
him and began to question him as to what was 
the matter. 

The boy did not want to tell her, but she 
threatened and wheedled, and wheedled and 
threatened until she got the whole story out of 
him. 

“That is well,” said Fair, “and I am sure you 
are a good boy and will do as Trembling bade 
you, and now come with me and I will give you 
a drink to refresh you.” 

Fair took the boy back to the castle and filled 
a golden goblet and gave it to the boy to drink, 
and what she had filled it with was the drink of 
forgetfulness. 

175 


FAIR, BROWN, AND TREMBLING 

The cowherd drank, and at once he forgot all 
about Trembling and the message she had given 
him, and so the king’s son never heard about it. 

The next day the cowherd was down by the 
sea again, and up came the whale out of the 
depths of the sea, and spewed Trembling out 
upon the sand as before, and disappeared as 
he had come. 

The moment Trembling saw the lad she called 
to him. “Did you give the king’s son my 
message ? ” she asked. 

“No, I did not,” answered the boy. 

“Alack and woe is me! And why did you 
not do as I bade you ? ” 

Then the lad told her how he had met Fair, 
and how Fair had drawn the whole story out of 
him, and then had given him the drink of for¬ 
getfulness, so that he had had no memory 
left of Trembling or her message. 

“To-day Fair will meet you and try to do the 
same,” said Trembling ; “but you must manage 
to spill the drink and get my message to the 
king’s son, for if you do not, then I am lost 
forever.” 

That evening when the lad went home, Fair 
176 


AN IRISH TALE 


met him, and asked him whether he had seen 
Trembling again, and had talked with her. 

“Yes, I saw her,” he answered, “and she bade 
me carry the same message to the king’s son 
that she gave me before.” 

When Fair heard this she took the cowherd 
into the castle, and mixed a drink of forget¬ 
fulness as before, and served it to him in a 
golden goblet. But this time, instead of drink¬ 
ing what she gave him, the cowherd managed to 
spill it on the floor without Fair’s seeing what he 
did. Then he gave her back the goblet, and as 
it was empty, Fair thought he had drunk of 
it, and had forgotten all about his message. 

But the lad had not forgotten, and that 
evening he managed to get a word with the 
king’s son, and he told him all about what had 
happened, and what he had seen, and the mes¬ 
sage that Trembling had sent to him. 

Then the king’s son wondered with a great 
wonder, and rejoiced with fear. He had a silver 
bullet made, and the next day he went down to 
the cliffs with the cowherd, and the cowherd 
showed him where it was that the whale spewed 
Trembling out on the sand. 

177 


FAIR, BROWN, AND TREMBLING 

The king’s son hid back of some rocks there 
and watched and waited, and it was not so very 
long before the whale came rolling and wallow¬ 
ing through the waters, and the little waves 
ran up on the sand, and when he came near 
enough to the land he spewed Trembling out 
upon it and sank down under the waters again. 

Then the king’s son came out from behind 
the rocks, and he and Trembling ran to each 
other and embraced and wept with joy. They 
sat down and talked until it was time for 
the whale to come again, and then the king’s 
son hid back of the rocks, and Trembling went 
and stood by the edge of the sea. 

She only waited there a little while, and then 
came the whale to get her. He opened his 
mouth and rolled over on his side, and at once 
the prince saw the red spot under his breast 
fin. He waited not a moment but raised his 
gun and shot, and the silver bullet entered the 
red spot and pierced through to the great 
beast’s heart, and the whale’s life flowed out 
through the wound and he was dead. 

But the king’s son and Trembling returned 
to the castle, and when Fair saw them coming 
178 


AN IRISH TALE 

she almost fainted, fearing what they might do 
to her. 

They did nothing at first, but the prince 
wrote a long letter to Fair’s father, telling him 
all that had happened, and asking what should 
be done with Fair. 

The father wrote back that since she had been 
so wicked she should be sealed up in a cask and 
thrown into the sea from the cliffs to live or 
perish as heaven willed. 

As he said, so it was done. Fair was put into 
a cask and thrown into the sea from the very 
place where she had pushed Trembling over, and 
what became of her no one ever knew. 

But the king’s son and Trembling lived to¬ 
gether in great love and happiness forever after. 

As for the little cowherd, he was brought to 
live in the palace and was treated with great 
honor, and when he grew up he married the 
princess who had been a baby when Trembling 
was thrown to the whale, and they loved each 
other so dearly that even the king’s son and 
Trembling were no happier than they. 


179 


THE DEMON OF THE MOUNTAIN 
A Transylvanian Gipsy Tale 

There was once a poor peasant lad who was 
sober and honest and industrious, and yet he 
never could succeed in the world; he was 
barely able to make enough to keep body and 
soul together. 

One night he had a dream, and in his dream a 
venerable looking old man with a long gray 
beard, and wearing a golden crown upon his 
head, appeared to him. 

“My son,” said the old man, “go to the top 
of the mountain that lies beyond the rocky 
plain to the eastward. There fortune awaits 
thee ; only be brave and daring. Go, and delay 
not.” 

In the morning, when the youth awoke, he 
remembered his dream and wondered over it 
for a time, but it was soon forgotten. 

180 


A TRANSYLVANIAN GIPSY TALE 1 

The next night the old man appeared to him 
again while he was sleeping and regarded him 
with a severe expression. “Why hast thou not 
already set out for the mountain ?” he asked. 
“Fortune will not await thee forever.” 

When the youth awoke, he wondered that he 
should have dreamed of the same old man a 
second time, but still he regarded the dream as 
meaning nothing, and before the end of the day 
he had forgotten it. 

But the third night the same old man appeared 
to him for still a third time. “How is this?” 
he cried! “ By this time thou shouldst have 

been well on thy way to the mountain. Up! 
Up ! delay not, or disaster will follow!” 

Wheri the youth awoke he determined to set 
out at once for the mountain. He packed up 
enough food for the journey and started out 
without further delay. 

All day he traveled across the rocky plain, 
and by night time he had arrived at the foot of 
the mountain. Here he rested, and the next 
day he set out to climb to the top. 

Up and up he went, and so at last came to the 
mouth of a cave that was at the summit. 

181 


A DEMON OF THE MOUNTAIN 


A light shone out from the cave, and when the 
lad looked into it he saw a beautiful maiden 
sitting there, fair beyond all words. Her hair 
was of pure gold and shone like sunlight, and it 
was so long it fell down all about her and trailed 
on the floor, and out of her hair she was weaving 
a mantle. 

When the beauty saw the lad she cried out 
loud for wonder. 

“Who art thou, rash youth ?” she called to 
him, “who hath dared to venture into the cave 
of the Mountain Demon ?” 

“I am a poor peasant who lives down below 
here on the other side of the plain/’ he an¬ 
swered. “And I did not know this was a 
Demon’s Cave.” 

“But how earnest thou hither?” 

“An old man told me to come. He appeared 
to me three times in a dream, with a crown of 
gold on his head, and he told me to journey 
to the top of the mountain and I would find 
fortune awaiting me.” 

“He spoke truth,” answered the maiden. 
“That old man was my father; he was a King 
and I am a Princess. He who rescues me may 
182 


A TRANSYLVANIAN GIPSY TALE 


have me for a bride if he will, and my Kingdom 
for a dowry.” 

The Princess then told the lad that years be¬ 
fore the Demon of this mountain had seen her 
beside a spring where she was bathing with her 
maidens. He had fallen in love with her, and 
for her sake he had made war on her father and 
slain him, but her he had brought here to his 
cave, and had set her to weaving a mantle out 
of her hair. When the mantle was finished she 
would be obliged to marry him, and already it 
was almost done. 

“ But how may you be rescued ?” asked the lad. 

“That is a difficult and dangerous task,” 
replied the beauty, “but it may be done. If 
you have the courage to stay here for three 
nights,” said the Princess, “and for those three 
nights will allow the Demon to torment you as 
he will, and yet are brave enough to utter 
never a sound, then his power over me will be 
broken, and I will be free from him.” 

When the youth heard that the only way he 
could save the Princess was by allowing the De¬ 
mon to torment him for three nights, his ardor 
was somewhat cooled. “And if I were to rescue 
183 


A DEMON OF THE MOUNTAIN 


you, would you be willing to take me for a hus¬ 
band ?” he asked. 

“Yes, that I would,” answered the Princess, 
“ for if you can endure those torments for my 
sake, then I will know you love me truly, and 
that you are indeed a brave soul and a daring 
one.” 

The youth thought for a while. “Very well,” 
he said, “at least I will try it.” 

Then he sat down, and he and the Princess 
talked together, and she was so wise and gentle 
and witty in her talk that with every hour that 
passed he loved her better and better. 

Toward evening there was a great noise out¬ 
side and a glare of red light, and the Mountain 
Demon rushed into the cave, and a terrible 
creature he was to look at, I can tell you. He 
was as black as soot, and his eyes shone in his 
head like coals of fire. He had horns and a tail, 
and instead of nails he had long claws on his 
fingers, and with every breath he sent out fire 
and cinders. 

When the lad saw the Demon he began to 
shake and tremble, and he wished he were well 
out of that adventure and home again, even 
184 


A TRANSYLVANIAN GIPSY TALE 


if he had to miss having a Princess for a wife. 
However it was too late to wish that now. 

The Demon wasted no words upon the lad, 
but he picked him up and threw him down on the 
floor, and then he danced about on him up and 
down. After he had finished dancing on him, 
he hauled him about and pulled his ears and his 
hair, and did everything he could to make him 
cry out, and almost he succeeded; but still the 
youth remembered what the Princess had said 
and managed to keep his lips closed, and when 
the first ray of daylight shone into the cave, 
the Demon was obliged to depart, for so it is 
with the evil ones. 

Then the Princess came, and lifted the youth 
up and comforted him, and she took down a 
flask from the wall where it hung, and rubbed 
him over with the ointment that was in it, and 
then his bruises disappeared — for he had been 
black and blue all over from the way the Demon 
had danced on him. 

“That is one night passed, and you have 
stood it bravely,” said the Princess. 

“Yes, that is all very well,” answered the 
Youth, “ but I doubt whether I can stand two 

185 


A DEMON OF THE MOUNTAIN 

more nights of it. Perhaps it would have been 
better if I had kept away altogether; or at least 
that I go away now before I suffer any more 
torments that may be even worse.” 

“Do not say that,” cried the Princess, and 
she began to weep. 

When the lad saw her tears, his heart melted 
with pity for her, and he promised that he would 
not desert her, whatever happened, but would do 
his best to rescue her. 

Then the Princess was cheered and brought out 
all sorts of good things that the Demon had 
stored away, and she and the lad ate and drank 
together and became quite merry. 

After a while it became dark, however, and the 
lad’s heart sank down again. 

At the same hour as the night before, the 
Demon came rushing back into the cave again, 
and when he saw the lad was still there, he howled 
aloud for very rage. Again he caught up the 
lad and dashed him down on the floor of the cave, 
and this time he took a hammer and pounded 
him with it until it seemed to the lad that every 
bone in his body was beaten to a jelly. 

He had to clench his teeth together to keep 
186 


A TRANSYLVANIAN GIPSY TALE 


from crying out. All night the Demon tor¬ 
mented him until he was more dead than alive, 
but when morning came, the evil one was obliged 
to give over as before, and he disappeared out 
of the cave, howling horribly. 

The Princess came and rubbed the lad all over 
with the ointment as before and then he became 
quite strong and well and sound again. 

But now the lad was all for starting out for 
home. He had had enough of the Demon and 
his doings. The Princess had to beg and implore 
and entreat him before he would consent to 
remain for still the third night. 

“What good will it do me, or you either,” 
he said, “if the Demon makes an end of me? 
And that I fear he will do, if he finds me here a 
third time.” 

“Oh, my dear lad, surely you love me enough 
to suffer still one other little time,” wept the 
Princess. “I do not believe the Demon has 
really the power to kill you; and think, if you 
allow him to torment you only one more night 
and still keep silence, then you will have me for 
a wife, and a kingdom to reign over, and we will 
live together happily forever.” 

187 


A DEMON OF THE MOUNTAIN 


“Very well,” said the lad at last, “I will 
try to stand it still this third time, though I 
misdoubt me I am a fool for my pains.” 

So when the Demon came home that night, 
there was the lad still sitting in the cave with 
the Princess. The Demon was so enraged he 
swelled up to twice his size and turned blacker 
than ever. He caught the lad from off the stool 
where he was sitting and threw him on the 
floor and then he picked up a pair of pincers and 
pinched him all over. All night the Demon 
kept at him. He rolled him about over the 
floor, and knocked him against the stools and 
tables, and it seemed sometimes as though the 
lad would be obliged to cry for mercy. But 
he bit his lips till they bled, and not a sound came 
from between them. 

At last it was morning, and when the sun shone 
into the cave, the Demon gave a howl and burst 
with a noise like a thunder-clap, and there was 
nothing left of him but a little heap of black 
dust on the floor. 

But the lad lay there without sound or motion, 
as though he were dead. Then for the third 
time the Princess rubbed him with the ointment, 
188 


A TRANSYLVANIAN GIPSY TALE 


and he opened his eyes and rose up and was 
quite well again. 

The Princess bade him go to the back of the 
cave where there was a spring of water and bathe 
himself in it. This he did, and as soon as he had 
bathed he became the handsomest young man 
that ever was seen, and instead of poor and 
ragged clothes he was dressed in silks and vel¬ 
vets, and he had a jeweled ring upon his finger, 
and a golden crown on his head. 

“And now,” said the Princess, “we will re¬ 
turn to my own country, and you shall be King 
and I will be Queen, and we will live happily 
together from this time on.” 

As she said so it was, and she and the peasant 
lad returned to her kingdom and were married, 
and they loved each other so dearly that there 
never was a cross word between them. 

I went to the wedding along with all the others 
that were bidden, and ate and drank so much 
that I could hardly walk home again. 


189 


THE LAMIA 
A Hindoo Tale 

Many long years ago there lived a young 
King named Ali Mardan, who was wise and good 
and just in all his rulings, and beloved through¬ 
out all his kingdom. 

One day Ali Mardan went out into the jungle 
to hunt, and many attendants and courtiers 
rode with him. They went on deeper and deeper 
into the jungle, and then suddenly they came to 
an open place, and there, seated under a tree, 
was a young damsel, thin and pale, and she was 
weeping bitterly. Even through her tears, 
however, she was so strangely beautiful that 
the King’s heart leaped within him at sight of 
her. 

Ali Mardan bade his attendants stop where 
they were, and then he went up near to the 
damsel and questioned her as to who she was 
190 


A HINDOO TALE 


and whence she had come, and why she was 
weeping so bitterly. 

The damsel answered him in a voice broken 
by sobs and sighs. She told him she had been 
an attendant in the court of the Queen of China. 
She said her father was a great lord, very rich 
and magnificent. A few days before, she had 
been walking alone in the gardens of the palace 
and there she had been suddenly seized by a 
band of robbers who had carried her off; they 
had stripped her of all her jewels and then left 
her here alone in the forest to perish from hunger 
or to be devoured by wild beasts. 

Ali Mardan was filled with pity for the un¬ 
fortunate damsel. He begged her to return 
with him to his palace, promising she should be 
treated with the greatest courtesy and respect. 

The damsel willingly agreed to this proposal, 
and the King gave her into the charge of his 
attendants, bidding them carry her back through 
the jungle with all care possible. 

As soon as they arrived at the palace, the King 
had the finest of the apartments prepared for 
the stranger. He presented her with magnifi¬ 
cent robes, and the most valuable jewels in his 
191 


THE LAMIA 

treasure house, that she might adorn her beauty 
with them. 

The King, indeed, had fallen violently in love 
with her. He could not rest until she promised 
to marry him, and then as soon as possible the 
wedding was arranged, and they were married 
with the greatest magnificence. 

But from the time the stranger became his 
wife, a curious change came over Ali Mardan. 
It was not that he no longer loved the stranger. 
Indeed it seemed as though he were bewitched. 
He thought of nothing but her. Her lightest 
whims were gratified. He scarcely ever left her 
side, and all his affairs of state and duties were 
neglected. Even his looks changed. He became 
thin and pale, and his eyes were like dead stones 
in his head. 

The stranger Queen, on the contrary, grew 
livelier and more beautiful with every day 
that passed. Her cheeks became round and 
rosy, her eyes sparkled like jewels, and often 
she laughed aloud to herself as if at some merry 
thought. 

One of the things the Queen demanded of the 
King was that he should build her a pleasure 
192 


A HINDOO TALE 


garden that should be for themselves alone. 
No one else was to be allowed to enter it except 
the gardener specially appointed to care for it. 
She told Ali Mardan exactly how she wished it, 
and as soon as possible he saw to it that her 
desires were carried out. 

When the garden was finished it was seven 
miles long and seven miles wide, even as the 
Queen had desired. It had a marble wall 
around it, and golden gates. There were flowers 
and fruit trees, all of the rarest kind, and wind¬ 
ing paths and marble seats and fountains and 
painted temples. 

AfteT it was finished the King and Queen 
spent a great deal of time there, and no one 
was allowed to enter the garden except them¬ 
selves and the gardener who had charge of it. 

Now in another land, far, far away, there 
lived at this time a very holy jogi, — a priest. 
He had one servant who was very true and faith¬ 
ful to him. Every year the jogi sent his servant 
to fetch him a jug of water from the holy lake 
Gangabal, which lies, surrounded by snows, at 
the top of the mountain Haramukh. Always 
he gave the servant a small box of magic oint- 
193 


THE LAMIA 


ment to carry with him. This box of ointment 
protected him from any evil or harm that might 
otherwise have befallen him, and also gave him 
the power to travel so quickly that he was able 
to go to the mountain and return again in three 
days, while without the magic ointment it would 
have taken him years to make the journey. 

Now it so happened soon after the King had 
built the pleasure garden for his beloved, the 
jogi’s servant came by that way, returning to 
his master with the water. He wondered when 
he saw the miles of marble wall and the gates of 
gold. He could see above the walls the boughs 
of trees covered with strange fruits, and the 
flash of water as the fountains spouted high. 
He became very curious to examine the garden, 
and after some trouble he managed to climb 
the wall and drop down on the other side. When 
he looked around he was amazed and excited 
over the beauty of everything. He set out to 
examine the garden, wandering on farther and 
farther along the paths, away from the place 
where he had entered. At length he became 
weary, and sat down under a tree to rest, and 
before he knew it he sank into a deep sleep. 

194 


A HINDOO TALE 


Now it so happened the King came into the 
garden alone that day, and chancing by where the 
servant lay he was amazed to see a stranger there, 
lying under a tree asleep. He came closer in order 
to see who it was who had dared enter the for¬ 
bidden garden, and after regarding the servant 
attentively for a few minutes he noticed that he 
held some small bright object tightly clasped in 
his left hand. 

Ali Mardan stooped, and gently loosening the 
servant’s fingers, took from his hand the object, 
which proved to be a small gold box of ointment, 
curiously chased. 

At almost the same moment the servant awoke, 
and at once, missing the box, he looked about 
him and saw the King standing near by and 
holding the box in his hand. 

The man was terrified. He sprang to his 
feet and began to beg and entreat the King to 
return it to him. 

“The box is not mine, indeed,” said he. 
“It belongs to my master who is a holy and very 
powerful jogi.” He then explained to the King 
the uses of the box. “Even now my master is 
waiting for me to return with the water from the 

195 


THE LAMIA 


sacred lake,” he cried, “for he is so holy that he 
cannot wash except in that water.” 

“Is your master indeed such a saint ?” asked 
the King, looking at him keenly. “I would like 
very much to see such a wonderful jogi. I will 
keep the box, and if he desires to have it, he 
will have to come to me to get it.” 

The servant fell on his knees and with tears 
entreated the King to return the box to him, 
but the King still refused. “ Your master must 
come for it,” he replied. “Only so can he regain 
possession of the box.” 

Finding the King determined in the matter 
the servant was obliged to go on his way without 
the box, but the distance to his own land was 
so great that it took him two and a half years to 
get there, traveling in the ordinary manner. 

He found his master awaiting him impatiently, 
and the jogi at once demanded of him what had 
delayed him so long. 

The servant told him the whole story, and 
when the jogi found the King had kept the box 
and had refused to give it back to the servant, 
he was very angry. He at once girded his gar¬ 
ments about him and set out for the kingdom 
196 


A HINDOO TALE 


of Ali Mardan, for he needed the box and was 
determined to have it back. 

For two years and six months he journeyed on, 
and then he found himself at the place where he 
would be. 

He at once demanded to be brought before 
the King. This was done, for the palace at¬ 
tendants could easily see he was a very holy 
man, and they would not have dared to refuse 
anything he asked. 

No sooner did Ali Mardan discover who the 
jogi was than he made him welcome and at 
once returned to him the box of ointment. He 
also treated him with the greatest respect and 
heaped upon him every honor that was possible. 

The jogi was pleased with this and all his 
anger against Ali Mardan died out. Presently, 
regarding the King carefully, he said, “Tell me, 
O King, have you always been so strangely 
pale ? And have your eyes always had that 
stony look ? ” 

The King hung his head, and at first he would 
not answer, but presently he said, “It has not 
always been so, but I cannot tell what ails me, 
nor can any of the physicians discover what is 
197 


THE LAMIA 


the matter with me. It is some very secret 
ailment, but always I grow thinner and paler, 
and unless some relief comes to me, I think I 
shall soon die.” 

The jogi thought for a while and then he said, 
“Tell me: Have you any strange women in the 
house ?” 

“Only one,” answered the King, “and she is 
the Queen.” And he began and told the jogi 
the whole story of how he had found the damsel 
in the forest, beautiful and forlorn, and of how 
he had brought her home and married her and 
set her high above all others. 

When he had made an end of his story the 
holy man spoke up bravely and fearlessly. 

“This woman you tell me of does not come 
from the court of China. She is not the daughter 
of a high official. Indeed, she is not a woman at 
all. From all you have told me, I can easily see 
that she is a lamia — a snake creature with evil 
powers of magic. She is probably very old — 
two hundred years at least — and she has taken 
on this woman-form in order to bewitch you 
and draw the life out of you for her own evil 
purposes.” 

198 


A HINDOO TALE 


When the King heard these words, he cried 
aloud with horror and amazement. He could 
not believe what the jogi told him. “What 
can you be thinking of,” he cried. “She is so 
beautiful and I love her so dearly that I cannot 
believe such a thing. You must be a very 
wicked man to believe it possible.” 

“Very well,” answered the jogi calmly. “I 
am ready to prove what I say.” He then told 
the King what to do in order to test the truth of 
his story. “If things do not turn out exactly 
as I say,” said he, “then hold me guilty and 
mete out to me whatever punishment you see 
fit. But if all I tell you comes true, then let 
the woman be punished, and you will free your¬ 
self from a very wicked power.” 

To this bargain the King agreed, and that 
evening, according to the directions of the jogi, 
he sent word to the Queen that he would sup 
with her that night. He also caused a dish of 
rice to be prepared, part of it sweetened, and 
part of it very salt. It was all put in the same 
dish together, the salt at one end and the sweet 
at the other. 

Then he went to the Queen’s apartments and 

199 


THE LAMIA 


they sat down together at the table; the rice 
was placed between them that they might both 
eat from the same dish, but the sweet rice was 
on the King’s side, and the salt rice on the side 
of the Queen. 

When the Queen tasted it, she thought it very 
salt, but looking over at the King she saw he was 
eating it with the greatest enjoyment, and as 
though it were exactly as he liked it. She there¬ 
fore ate also, without saying anything. 

After they had eaten there was music and 
dancing, and then all the attendants were dis¬ 
missed, and the King and Queen lay down as 
though to sleep. Ali Mardan only pretended 
to fall asleep, however. He was really awake, 
but he kept his eyes closed and lay quite still 
so as to deceive the Queen. 

Now the Queen had eaten so much salt that 
before long she became very thirsty, but there 
was no water in the apartment, for the King 
had given orders that all the water should be 
privately removed. She twisted and sighed and 
turned, and at last her thirst grew so great that 
she could no longer bear it. She sat up and 
looked at Ali Mardan, but he kept his eyes shut 


200 



The Queen was a lamia, even as the jogi had guessed, 

Page 201. 







A HINDOO TALE 


and pretended to be asleep. For some time she 
sat there watching him, and all the while he lay 
there breathing deeply and evenly and did not 
so much as stir an eyelid. 

After a time the Queen became satisfied that 
he was really asleep. She then arose and softly 
stole from the room. 

As soon as she had gone, the King also arose 
and followed her. The Queen went out through 
a great painted door and down a long flight of 
steps that led to the garden, intending to satisfy 
her thirst at one or other of the fountains. 

Now if a lamia goes out at night and the 
stars shine upon her, she cannot keep her human 
form, but is obliged to resume her natural shape 
of a snake, and as indeed the Queen was a 
lamia, even as the jogi had guessed, no sooner 
did she come out under the sky than she turned 
into an enormous serpent, and so glided away 
into the night. 

The King still followed her, carefully keeping 
out of her sight, and saw her stop at one fountain 
after another, tasting at each one, but at none 
did she stay for more than a few moments. 

On she went until at last she came to her 


201 


THE LAMIA 


favorite pool, where she and the King had often 
sat. Here she stayed, and leaning down over 
the edge, she drank and drank again. Long 
and deep were her drinkings. Then for a while 
she lay beside the fountain, satisfied and torpid, 
and while she so lay the King stole back to the 
palace and lay down again in bed, and closed his 
eyes. 

Presently he heard the Queen returning 
quietly. She came back into the room in her 
human form, for she was able to resume it when 
she came in from under the starlight. 

She stooped over Ali Mardan and listened to 
his breathing, and as he was still quiet and did 
not open his eyes, she believed he had not awak¬ 
ened or missed her. She then lay down again 
beside him and was soon asleep. 

The next day the King called the jogi to him 
and told him what he had seen. “You were 
perfectly right,” said he, “and I now know the 
Queen is indeed a lamia. I have now such a 
horror of her I do not see how I could ever have 
thought she was beautiful. But I am sure she 
is very powerful, and I fear if she discovers 
I know her to be a snake she will destroy me.” 

202 


A HINDOO TALE 


“You must not let her know this,” answered 
the jogi. “Be very loving and merry with her 
as usual. Tell her you have a fancy that you and 
she shall sup together in the garden to-morrow 
night, and that you shall cook the food your¬ 
selves. To this she will agree. Meanwhile, 
do^ you have an enormous iron oven made, 
so constructed that it can be heated thrice hot. 
Have this oven chained down to the ground by 
seven iron chains. After this is finished, I 
will instruct you as to what further you are to 
do.” 

The King followed out the jogi’s directions in 
every particular. He had the oven made and 
chained to the ground in the pleasure garden by 
seven iron chains. Also he told the Queen that 
he and she would sup alone the next day in the 
pleasure garden, and that no hands but theirs 
should cook their meal. To this the Queen 
agreed as to a merry jest. 

Accordingly, the next evening, the King and 
Queen went to the garden together, and he was 
very loving with her, as the jogi had instructed 
him to be. 

Everything had been arranged for them in 
203 


THE LAMIA 


the garden. A golden table had been set out 
in a pavilion with a golden bowl of meal on it, 
and spices and sweets and everything that was 
necessary for making a cake such as the King 
liked. The Queen made the cake very skill¬ 
fully, and the King said he would bake it. But 
after he had opened the oven door he was very 
awkward about placing the cake inside, and he 
called to the Queen to come and help him. 

The Queen did not like to approach so close 
to the hot oven, but at last she did so. She took 
the cake and stepped to the oven door, and then 
the King gave her such a push that she stumbled 
and fell inside. 

At once the King shut the iron door with a 
clang, and bolted it with the seven bolts that 
had been provided. The jogi, who had been 
hiding behind a bush close by, ran out and helped 
him. 

No sooner did the Queen find herself locked 
into the oven than she changed back into an 
enormous serpent, and threshed and beat about, 
and bounded from side to side. So powerful 
were the blows of her tail that the iron sides of 
the oven were bent, but still she could not break 
204 


A HINDOO TALE 


through them. Her boundings would have 
carried the cage out of the garden if it had not 
been fastened down with the seven iron chains. 

After a while, however, all grew silent within 
the oven. Then the jogi and the King unfas¬ 
tened the seven bolts and opened the door. 
When they looked inside, nothing was to be 
seen of the lamia but a little heap of dust upon 
the oven floor. The King stood looking at it, 
pale and shaken. But the jogi took his 
stick and brushed aside the dust, and drew out 
from the midst of it a small grayish ball that 
appeared to be of polished stone. This he gave 
to the King. “Take it,” he said. “It is all 
that is left of the serpent, and by all rights it is 
yours.” 

“ But what is it ? ” asked the King. 

“It is a magic stone, and has the power of 
turning whatever you touch with it to gold.” 

But Ali Mardan drew back. “ I do not wish 
to have it,” said he. “ It is too valuable. Never 
would my life be safe if I had such a thing as 
that in my possession.” 

“You are wise,” replied the jogi. “My ad¬ 
vice to you would be to say nothing about it to 
205 


THE LAMIA 

r • 

any one, but to take it and drop it into the 
depths of the sea where it can never be found.” 

As the jogi advised, so the King did. He 
took the magic stone to the sea and dropped it 
down into the water where no one could ever 
find it again, and then he returned to his palace 
and lived in peace. In time he married the 
daughter of a neighboring King, and lived with 
her in great love and happiness, and the Queen 
bore him many children, both princes and 
princesses, and never a lamia among them. 


206 


THE THREE DOVES 
A Czech Tale 

There was once a poor widow who had one 
only son named Jack, and he was a stout, 
likely lad. 

One day Jack said to his mother, “Give me 
your blessing and let me go out into the world to 
seek my fortune.” 

The mother did not say no. “Go, my son, 
and my blessing go with you; only do not stay 
too long, for I am well on in years and I wish to 
see you again before I die.” 

The son promised he would not stay more than 
a year at most, and then off he set. 

He journeyed on, a short way and a long way, 
and then he came to a sorcerer’s house. There 
he knocked at the door and asked to take serv¬ 
ice. 

The sorcerer was willing and ready to take 
him in. “You will have good wages,” said he, 
207 


V THE THREE DOVES 

‘‘but you will have to stay with me for a year, 
no more, no less; that must be in the bargain/’ 
That suited Jack exactly, so the sorcerer 
showed him what he was to do and Jack set to 
work at once, without any more talk about it. 

For a year he served his master, and the sor¬ 
cerer was well pleased with him. All went well 
about the house, and if there were things Jack 
did not understand and that were not his 
business he asked no questions about them. 

Every day the sorcerer went out and sat be¬ 
side a fountain that was in front of the house. 
Every day three beautiful snow-white doves 
came there to bathe, and each dove had three 
golden feathers on its breast. They bathed, 
and then the sorcerer talked to them for a 
while, and after that they flew away. Jack 
asked no questions about them, nor whence they 
came nor whither they went. 

At the end of the year his master said to him, 
“You have served me well and faithfully, and 
I am much pleased with you, but now the year 
has come to an end and you must go. Here is 
the key of my treasure chamber. Go and take 
as much treasure from it as you are able to 
208 


A CZECH TALE 


carry, gold or jewels or precious stones. Take 
this sack and fill it with what you like best; 
I will never miss it, however much it is.” 

Jack took the key and the sack and went to 
the treasure chamber. He was amazed at what 
he saw there, gold and diamonds and emeralds 
and rubies and sapphires and amethysts and 
every kind of precious stones. He filled the 
sack with as much as he could carry, and then 
returned to his master. 

‘‘That is well,” said the sorcerer. “You 
have now enough riches to build yourself a castle 
that an emperor might envy. I also intend you 
to have a wife who is suitable to live in such a 
castle. Have you seen the three snow-white 
doves that come every day to bathe in the foun¬ 
tain?” 

“Yes,” replied Jack, “I have seen them.” 

“Now I will tell you that those three doves are 
three enchanted Princesses. You must catch 
one of them and carry it home with you. After 
the castle is built pluck out the three golden 
feathers from its breast and the dove will become 
a Princess, the most beautiful in all the world. 
You can then marry her; but you must hide the 
209 


THE THREE DOVES 


feathers away and never let her find them, for 
if she does she will certainly become a dove 
again, and you may lose her forever/’ 

Jack promised to heed in every way what the 
sorcerer said to him. He laid down the sack 
of treasure and went out and hid beside the 
fountain. Before long there was a sound of 
wings, and the three doves flew down to the 
fountain and began to bathe, and while they 
were bathing he managed to creep up close and 
seize one of them. The other two flew away, 
crying mournfully, but Jack tied a handkerchief 
over the wings of the one he had caught, and 
carried it back to the house with him. 

“That is well,” said the sorcerer; “and now 
be off, for no one must abide here with me for 
over a year.” 

Jack thanked his master for all he had done 
for him and set off for home, and his feet were 
so light that the distance seemed as nothing 
to him. 

When he reached home his mother was so 
glad to see him that she could not forbear from 
weeping aloud for joy. Jack made haste to 
show her the bag of treasure he had brought 
210 


A CZECH TALE 

home with him, and the snow-white dove that 
was an enchanted Princess, and his mother 
could hardly believe it possible that such good 
luck had come to them. 

Jack had a golden cage made for the dove, 
and there he kept it while his castle was being 
builded. 

“And how will you turn the dove back into 
a Princess when you are ready for her ? ” asked 
the widow. 

“Oh, I have only to pluck out the three golden 
feathers from her breast, for that is what the 
sorcerer told me.” 

“And then will she always remain as a Prin¬ 
cess ? ” 

“She will unless she finds the golden feathers 
again. But I will attend to that; I will hide 
them so carefully that she will never have a 
chance of finding them.” 

“And where will you find such a place, my 
son?” 

“Oh, I intend to hide them in the feather bed 
upon which we sleep, for there she would never 
think of looking.” 

“No,” said the widow, “that is not a good 


2 11 


THE THREE DOVES 


plan, for some time, by chance, the feather 
bed might come unfastened, and she might 
find them, but hide them in my feather bed, 
and then they will certainly be safe.” 

To this, after some talking, the lad agreed. 

Now all went on fast and merrily; workmen 
were hired and the castle built. When all 
was done Jack took the dove from its cage and 
plucked the golden feathers from its breast, — 
one — two — three. No sooner was this done 
than the dove vanished from his hands, and the 
most beautiful Princess in all the world stood 
there before him. She was so very beautiful 
that Jack was fairly dazzled by her. 

“Now I am yours, and you are mine,” said 
the Princess, “for so it was to be, and so it has 
happened. Only beware lest I find my golden 
feathers, for if I do I will become a dove again, 
and you will lose me perhaps forever.” 

“That shall never happen,” said Jack; and 
then he took the Princess by the hand and kissed 
her, and after that they were married as soon 
as the wedding feast could be prepared. 

And now the widow was a happy woman. 
She had everything in the world her heart could 


212 


A CZECH TALE 


wish for, and she was so proud of the wife her 
son had that sometimes she could hardly con¬ 
tain herself for joy. 

Now after Jack and the Princess had been 
married for some time it so happened that Jack 
was obliged to go away on a long journey, 
and he left his wife to the care of his mother. 

Soon after he had set out the widow came to 
the Princess’s apartments to visit her. She sat 
down and began to talk to her daughter-in-law 
and for some time everything went very pleas¬ 
antly. Presently the widow turned the talk 
upon the Princess’s beauty and began to compli¬ 
ment and praise her. 

“I do not suppose,” said she, “that in the 
whole world there is any one to compare with 
you in beauty. I am very sure you far outshine 
every one.” 

“Ah,” sighed the Princess, “you think me 
beautiful now, but if I only had one of my 
golden feathers you would see how much 
more beautiful I would become. I would be 
ten times more beautiful.” 

“I can hardly believe that,” said the widow, 
wondering. 


213 


THE THREE DOVES 


“ Nevertheless it is true, though you will 
never believe it unless you can find me one of 
the feathers.” 

The widow thought one feather fcould do no 
harm. She went away and soon returned with 
it. 

The Princess took the feather and stuck it in 
the bosom of her dress, and at once her beauty 
shone out so much brighter that it was as the 
moon when a cloud passes from before it. 

The widow was wonderstruck. “I would 
never have believed it possible,” cried she. “I 
did not think you could possibly become more 
beautiful than you were.” 

“Ah,” sighed the Princess, “that is only the 
beginning. If I had but another of my feathers, 
I would become even more beautiful still.” 

The widow brought another feather, and the 
Princess put it in her dress, and now her beauty 
shone so bright that the whole room was filled 
with the light of it. 

“This is nothing to what I would be if I 
had the third feather,” said the Princess. 

The widow was so dazzled that she forgot all 
her son had told her. She ran and fetched the 


214 


A CZECH TALE 


third feather. The Princess stuck it in the 
bosom of her dress, and at once she became a 
dove again. 

“Now I must leave you,” she cried. “Tell 
my husband that if he would find me, he must 
seek me beyond seven seas and over seven 
mountains at the uttermost parts of the earth, 
and it will be a wonder if he ever finds me.” 

So saying, she spread her wings, and flew 
away and out of sight. 

The widow was almost beside herself with 
grief and terror. When her son came home she 
hardly knew how to tell him what had happened. 
Still the telling had to be done, so somehow or 
other she managed to begin and go on until the 
end. 

Her son cried aloud with grief, when he heard 
what had happened. “I must return to the 
sorcerer,” he cried, “and ask his advice. It 
may be that he can tell me how to find her.” 

So off he set and on he went, and neither 
stopped nor tarried until he was back again at 
the sorcerer’s house. There he told him the 
whole tale, and the sorcerer listened and shook 
his head. 


THE THREE DOVES 


“This is a bad business,” said he, “and I 
know no more than you what has become of 
the Princess. But I have a brother, and he 
is King over all the birds in the world. You 
must go to him, and it may be that he can 
help you; he is older and wiser than I am.” 

The sorcerer then gave Jack a ball and bade 
him roll it before him and follow wherever it 
went, and it would bring him to where the King 
of the Birds was. 

Jack thanked the sorcerer and took the ball 
and rolled it before him, and after he had rolled 
it three times it brought him to where the sor¬ 
cerer’s brother lived, and an ugly one he was to 
look at, and so old his hair was white and his 
nose and chin met. 

Jack told him his story and how the sorcerer 
had sent him thither for advice. 

“I can tell you nothing of the Princess,” 
said the sorcerer’s brother, “ but I will call all 
the birds together, both large and small. It may 
be that some one or other of them has seen the 
Princess.” 

He took a whistle and blew upon it loud and 
shrill. At once there was a great sound of wings, 
216 


A CZECH TALE 


and the birds began to gather together from all 
the four quarters of the earth. The sky was 
black with them. When they had settled around 
him, the sorcerer’s brother began to question 
them about the Princess, but not one of them 
had seen anything of her. 

“It is of no use,” said the King of the Birds at 
last. “They know nothing of the Princess. 
You will have to go to the King of the Demons. 
He is our eldest brother and wiser than either 
the sorcerer or I. It may be he can help you.” 

The Bird King then gave Jack a ball and bade 
him roll it before him and follow where it went, 
and it would bring him to the King of the 
Demons. 

Jack took the ball and thanked him, and set 
off again, and after he had rolled the ball three 
times it brought him where the King of the De¬ 
mons was, and he was so hideous that Jack 
had never seen the like of him. His paunch 
was like a barrel, his nose was a yard long, and 
his eyebrows hung down over his eyes like a 
thatch. 

Jack told him what had brought him thither, 
and after he had made an end of the story the 
217 


THE THREE DOVES 


King of the Demons said, “I myself know 
nothing of the Princess, but I will call my 
demons together. They fly far and wide, 
throughout all the world and farther. It may 
be that one of them has seen the Princess.” 

So the King Demon took a whistle and blew 
upon it so loud and shrill that the lad was al¬ 
most deafened by it. At once, with a sound as 
of a mighty wind, all the demons in the world 
began to gather about them, and an ugly lot 
they were to look at. 

After they were all there, the King questioned 
them about the Princess, but none of them had 
seen or heard tell of her. 

And now the lad did not know what to do 
next. If the demons could not tell him of the 
Princess, then no one could. 

But suddenly there was a great sound of wings, 
and the blackest and ugliest and largest of all 
the demons came hurrying up. He had been so 
far away when the King Demon had blown his 
whistle that it had taken him all that time to 
get back. 

At once the King Demon began to question 
him about the Princess. Had he seen her or 
218 


A CZECH TALE 

heard tell of her ? And did he know where she 
was ? 

“Yes,” answered the demon, “I know where 
the Princess is. She is in a castle far, far away, 
beyond seven seas and over seven mountains 
at the uttermost parts of the earth, and that is 
where I was when you called me.” 

“Then I have a task for you,” said the King. 
“You must take this lad upon your shoulders 
and fly with him thither.” 

When the demon heard this he began to grum¬ 
ble and complain, but as the King Demon said 
so he was obliged to do. Before he and the lad 
set out, however, the King drew Jack aside and 
whispered in his ear: 

“Now listen well to what I tell you! This 
demon is a very tricky and dangerous fellow. 
When he has brought you to within seven 
miles of the Princess’s Castle he will ask you to 
look and tell him whether you can yet see it. 
If you answer yes he will shake you off his 
shoulders and you will fall into the sea beneath, 
and you will be drowned. So whether you see 
it or not you must shut your eyes and answer 
no. When you are within three miles of the 
219 


THE THREE DOVES 


castle he will ask you the same question, and 
again you must answer no. If you do not, he 
will shake you from his shoulders and you will 
fall upon the rocks below and be crushed. When 
you have arrived above the roofs of the castle 
he will ask you the same thing for the third 
time, and for the third time you must answer 
no. If you do not, he will drop you upon the 
highest roof, from whence you can never get 
down, and there you may stay forever. So be 
careful and answer as I bid you.” 

This the lad promised to do, and then the 
demon took the lad on his shoulders and flew 
away with him. 

On and on they flew, and fast as the wind 
blows the lad and the demon flew still faster. 
After a while they had gone so far that they were 
within seven miles of the castle. Then the de¬ 
mon called to Jack, “Look ahead of us and 
tell me whether you can see the castle. It 
should be within sight by now.” 

Then Jack shut his eyes and answered, “No, 
I see nothing.” 

The demon muttered and grumbled to him¬ 
self, but on, on he flew, swifter than the wind. 


220 


A CZECH TALE 


Presently they were within three miles of the 
castle, and the demon called, “Now look ahead 
and tell me if you see the castle.” 

Again Jack shut his eyes tight. “I see noth¬ 
ing of any castle,” said he. 

“Then you must be blind !” cried the demon 
angrily, and on he flew with the lad. 

Last of all they came over the roofs of the 
castle. “Now tell me if you see the castle,” he 
cried, “for it is directly below us.” 

For the third time Jack shut his eyes tight. 
“I tell you I see nothing of any castle,” he 
answered. 

The demon was in a rage. “You must 
be a fool as well as blind,” cried he, and he 
flew through a window into the castle and 
threw Jack off his shoulders, and away he went 
like a flash of lightning. 

Jack picked himself up and looked about him, 
and there were the three Princesses sitting to¬ 
gether — his own dear wife and her two sisters. 
They sat at three golden spinning-wheels, and 
when his wife saw who had entered she gave 
a cry of joy and ran to Jack and threw her arms 
about his neck and kissed him, and Jack kissed 


221 


THE THREE DOVES 


her, and everything was love and happiness 
between them. 

“Now you shall live here forever, and there 
will be no more partings,” cried the Princess. 

That suited Jack well enough for him not to 
grumble over it, for the castle seemed a grand 
fine place to live in; still he would rather have 
been at home, for there he was used to things. 

For some time the lad lived there content¬ 
edly enough with the three Princesses, and there 
was only one thing that bothered him. Every 
afternoon the Princesses were changed into 
three doves, and flew away to bathe in the Red 
Sea, and they were gone for three hours, and 
that time hung heavy on the lad’s hands. 

At first he was satisfied to go about over the 
castle and look at things while they were away. 
His wife gave him all her keys and he was free 
to go about as he chose. Only into one room 
he must not go, for that was forbidden. Jack 
wondered and wondered what there was in that 
room that he must not see. 

For a long time he kept away from it, but after 
a while he grew so curious that he thought he 
would just open the door and take one look in- 


222 



He lifted one of the goblets and held it up. Page 223. 








A CZECH TALE 

side. He would not touch anything, he would 
only look, and surely that could do no harm to 
any one. So one day when the Princesses were 
away, he unlocked the door and stepped inside 
and looked about him. There he saw such a 
terrible sight he almost fainted, for a great three¬ 
headed dragon was hung upon the wall. Each of 
its three heads hung upon a hook so that it 
could not loose them, and its tail lay across the 
floor, and beside the tail were three golden gob¬ 
lets of water. 

Jack was in haste to get out of the room and 
away from'the sight, but the dragon cried to him 
so piteously that he could not but linger. 

“Dear lad, do not fear me/’ cried the dragon. 
“I am dying with thirst. Give me, I pray of 
you, one of those goblets of water to drink 
from, and the first time your life is in danger I 
will save it.” 

For the sake of pity Jack could not refuse. 
He lifted one of the golden goblets and held it 
up for one of the dragon’s heads to drink from. 
No sooner had he done this than that head 
slipped from the nail and was free. 

“That was an act of mercy,” said the dragon, 


223 


THE THREE DOVES 


“but it was not enough. Give me the second 
goblet of water, and the second time your life is 
in danger, I will save it.” 

The lad had a pitying heart. He gave the 
dragon drink from the second goblet of water, 
and the second head was free. 

Now the dragon thrashed about with its 
tail, and roared so terribly that the lad’s heart 
quaked within him for fear. “You have now 
no choice,” cried the dragon. “Give me the 
third goblet of water, or I will destroy you.” 

The lad was obliged to do as the dragon de¬ 
manded. He gave it the third goblet of water, 
and at once it was free and flew away with a 
terrible noise. As it flew out of the palace, it 
met the three doves returning, and it caught the 
one that was the lad’s wife and carried her off 
in its claws. 

As soon as the other two doves became Prin¬ 
cesses again, they began to weep and lament. 
Bitterly they reproached the lad for what he 
had done. “We were happy here together,” 
they cried, “and now you have brought this 
misfortune upon us. Oh, our poor sister! Who 
will save her from the power of the dragon ? ” 
224 


A CZECH TALE 


“I will,” answered the lad, “or I will perish 
in the trying/’ 

Now in the Castle stable stood a fine coal- 
black steed. This steed was a brother to the 
Princesses, though the lad did not know that. 
Three brothers they had, and all had been 
changed into horses through evil enchantment. 
One was in the Castle stable, the second was a 
servant to the dragon, and the third was with an 
evil witch who lived over beyond the Red Sea. 

The lad went down and saddled the horse and 
led it from the stable. “Now carry me well, 
good steed,” said he, “for we have a long journey 
before us.” 

“What I can do, I will,” answered the steed, 
“but this is a very dangerous venture we are 
bent on. Before we set out take the flask that 
hangs from a nail in the hall and hide it in your 
bosom. It is filled with the Water of Life, and 
we may have need of it.” 

The lad did as the steed bade him. He took 
the flask and hid it in his bosom, and then away 
they rode toward the Castle of the Dragon. 

They rode along and rode along, and after a 
while they arrived at the castle, and there was 
225 


THE THREE DOVES 


the Princess looking out of a window, for the 
Dragon was away from home. As soon as she 
saw the lad she ran down to meet him, and he 
lifted her up in haste, and set her on the horse 
behind him and turned back the way he had 
come toward the Castle of the Princesses; 
and fast as the steed could carry them so fast 
they went. 

But presently the steed bade the lad turn 
and look behind him. “Do you see any one 
coming/’ asked he. 

“Yes,” answered the lad, “I see the Dragon 
following fast on a fine black charger.” 

“That steed is my brother,” said the horse, 
“and he goes faster than I can. Soon they will 
overtake us.” 

The Dragon rode up alongside of the lad and 
caught the Princess from him. “This once 
will I spare you,” cried he to the lad, “because 
you gave me the water and so I promised, 
but do not venture near my Castle again or it 
will be the worse for you.” 

The lad rode home sad and discouraged, but 
the next day he set out again to rescue the 
Princess. He rode to the Dragon’s Castle, and 
226 


A CZECH TALE 


again the Dragon was away and the Princess 
was watching for him. She ran down to meet 
him, and he took her up and set her behind him, 
and away they went. 

This time they had come within sight of the 
Golden Castle when the steed bade the lad turn 
and look behind him. “Do you see anything 
of the Dragon ? ” he asked. 

“Yes, he is coming after us hard and fast; 
I can scarce see him for the cloud of dust 
about him.” 

“Then he will soon catch us,” said the steed. 

Sure enough, a little while later the Dragon 
rode up and snatched the Princess from the lad, 
and his eyes shot forth green fire. “This time, 
too, will I spare you,” said he, “because of the 
second flask of water and the promise I gave 
you, but if you venture near my Castle again, 
I will surely rend you in pieces.” 

Then he rode away with the Princess, and the 
lad was left lamenting. 

All the same it was not long before Jack rode 
out again to rescue the Princess. This time, 
when he reached the Dragon’s Castle, the 
Dragon was sleeping, for the Princess had put 
227 


THE THREE DOVES 


a sleeping potion in his cup. She hastened down 
to meet the lad, and he took her up behind him 
and away they rode, fast as the steed could bear 
them. 

This time they had almost reached the gate 
of the Golden Castle when the Dragon awakened. 
When he found the Princess gone, his eyes flashed 
fire and smoke breathed from his nostrils. He 
mounted his princely steed and set out in pur¬ 
suit of them. 

“Master/’ said the steed, “we can never over¬ 
take them.” 

“That we must do,” answered the Dragon, 
“or your life shall be forfeit.” 

Just as the lad and the Princess reached the 
Golden Gateway the Dragon overtook them. 

“Now I will spare you no longer,” cried the 
Dragon, “for this time there is no promise to 
withhold me.” He caught the lad with his 
claws and tore him into four pieces and left the 
bits lying there in the gateway while he rode 
away with the Princess. 

That would have been the end of Jack if it 
had not been for the flask of the Water of Life 
in his bosom. The steed laid the pieces of his 
228 


A CZECH TALE 


body all together in order. Then he sprinkled 
them with the Water of Life and they all became 
joined together perfectly as they had been be¬ 
fore, but there was no breath of life in the body. 
The horse then poured a few drops of water into 
Jack’s mouth, and at once he revived and rose 
up as strong and well as ever. 

“Dear lad, we can do nothing further now,” 
said the steed. “If you are to save the Princess, 
you must have the help of my eldest brother, 
for he is the swiftest and strongest of any of us. 
He lives with an old witch over beyond the Red 
Sea. You must go there and take service with 
her. If you serve her well and faithfully, she 
will offer you one of her horses as a reward. 
You must choose the lean and sorry nag, for he 
is my brother, and it is he and he alone who can 
defeat the Dragon. But remember this: All 
the while that you are with the witch you must 
eat no food except when you are in the house 
with her and sitting at her table. She will give 
you other food for you to take out to the fields 
and eat there, but if so much as a crumb of it 
passes your lips, misfortune will surely come 
upon you.” 


229 


THE THREE DOVES 


“I will remember what you tell me,” answered 
Jack, and then he took a stout staff in his hand 
and set out in search of the witch. 

He journeyed on and on, a short way and a 
long way, and then he came to a place where 
an enormous spider’s web, as big as a sheet, was 
spread across the road, and in this enormous 
spider’s web an enormous fly was caught. The 
fly struggled to free itself, and the web shook with 
its struggles, but the threads held and it could 
not break them. Then it buzzed pitifully. 

The lad felt sorry for the fly. He took his 
staff and broke away the web and released it. 

“Dear lad, you have saved my life,” said the 
fly, “and I am not ungrateful. Break off one 
of my legs. Do not be afraid, it will not hurt 
me. If you are ever in trouble rub the leg 
between your fingers and call upon me, and I 
will come and help you.” 

Jack thanked the fly. He broke off one of 
its legs and put it carefully away so that he 
would not lose it, and then he journeyed on 
again. 

After a while he came to the borders of a deep 
wood, and there a wolf was caught with his tail 
230 


A CZECH TALE 


under a log. The log had rolled over on him, 
and he was unable to pull his tail from under it. 

Jack felt sorry for him. He put his hands 
against the log and pushed it so that the wolf 
was able to pull his tail out. 

“Dear lad,” said the animal, “I am not un¬ 
grateful. Pluck three hairs from my tail. If 
you are ever in danger, cast the hairs to the wind 
and call upon me and wherever I may be I will 
come and help you.” 

Jack thanked the wolf and plucked three 
hairs from its tail. Then he journeyed on 
again. 

It was not so very long after that that he came 
to the seashore, and there was a great crab 
lying on its back with the sun beating down on 
it, and it could not turn over so as to crawl back 
into the water. 

Jack felt sorry for the crab, and by putting 
his staff under it he was able to turn it over. 

“Dear lad, I am not ungrateful,” said the 
crab. “I know where you are going and why. 
In order to find the one you are seeking you will 
have to cross the sea, and this I will help you 
to do, for there is neither boat nor bridge to 
231 


THE THREE DOVES 


carry you over, and without my aid you could 
never reach the other side.” 

The crab then called upon all the crabs in the 
sea to come and make a path for the lad to walk 
upon. This the crabs did. They rose to the 
surface of the sea by thousands and thousands, 
and linked their claws together and held tight,, 
and Jack walked out over the sea on their 
backs as though they were a bridge and so came 
safely to the other side where he wished to be; 
not even the soles of his shoes were wet. 

Then all the crabs sank down under the water 
again, except the one Jack had helped, and it 
was the King of them all. “Now, you must pull 
off one of my claws,” said the crab. “Keep it 
carefully, and if you are ever in trouble throw it 
into the sea and I will come and help you.” 

Jack thanked the crab, and pulled off one of 
its claws and went on his way. 

He did not have to go far before he came to 
the witch’s house. There he knocked at the 
door, and when the witch opened it he asked to 
be taken into service. 

“That suits me well, for I have need of a good 
stout lad,” said the witch. Then she bade 
232 


A CZECH TALE 


Jack enter and set out some food for him, and 
after he had eaten she showed him a bed where 
he could sleep. 

The next morning the witch aroused him early 
and gave him his breakfast. “Now,” said she, 
“you must drive my herd of horses out to 
pasture, for that will be your duty every day. 
Watch them carefully and see that none of 
them wanders away or is lost. If for three days 
you drive them all out in the morning and bring 
them all safely home at night, I will reward you 
according to your desire, but if you fail to bring 
home even the sorriest nag of them all, then I 
will tear you into shreds and pieces.” 

“That suits me well enough,” answered Jack, 
“for it should not be such a hard task.” 

He went out to the stable to turn out the 
horses, and the witch followed him and gave him 
some food wrapped in a fine napkin to take with 
him. “For you may be hungry before night,” 
said she. 

Jack took the food and put it in his pocket, 
because the witch was watching him, but he 
remembered what the black steed had said, and 
he did not intend to touch a crumb of it. 

233 


THE THREE DOVES 


He drove the horses out to pasture and there 
all went well for a while. The horses fed there 
quietly enough, and Jack sat and watched them. 

Then just at noon time he was seized with such 
a fierce hunger that he did not know what to do 
with himself. He got up and walked about, 
but his hunger was so great that at last he could 
bear it no longer. He took out the food the 
witch had given him and ate it all, even to the 
last crumb. As soon as he had done this he fell 
into a deep sleep. 

Then all the horses that had been feeding so 
quietly raised their heads and galloped away, 
some one way and some another. They hid 
themselves in all sorts of places, in hedges and 
ditches and back of rocks. When, later on, 
Jack awoke, there was not a horse to be seen 
anywhere. 

Jack was terribly frightened. He jumped up 
and began hunting about for them, this way and 
that, but not one of them could he find any¬ 
where. 

The lad was in despair. It seemed as though 
it would be his fate to be torn to pieces the very 
first night of his herding. Then suddenly he 
234 


A CZECH TALE 

remembered the fly he had saved from the 
spider’s web, and he took out its leg and rubbed 
it between his fingers and called on it to help 
him. At once, as out of clear air, the fly ap¬ 
peared, and with it were hundreds and thousands 
of other flies. 

“I know your trouble,” said the fly he had be¬ 
friended, “and it is well you remembered and 
called upon me. Otherwise you would surely 
have perished. But now we will soon bring 
back the horses.” 

The flies then flew about over the fields, 
buzzing far and near, and wherever they found 
a horse they bit and stung it till it was almost 
mad with pain and for very life’s sake was 
obliged to come galloping back to the place 
where Jack was waiting. 

When they were all assembled again, even 
down to the sorriest nag of all, the flies dis¬ 
appeared as they had come, and Jack drove the 
herd home. 

The witch was waiting for him, and when she 
saw he was bringing the horses with him she 
could hardly believe her eyes. She went out 
to meet him and counted the horses over and 
23S 


THE THREE DOVES 

over again, but they were all there; not one was 
missing. 

The witch was in a fury. She gave Jack his 
supper and sent him to bed, and then she took 
down a heavy lash from the wall, and went 
out to where the horses were waiting and trem¬ 
bling. 

“Why did you not hide yourselves as I com¬ 
manded you?” cried the witch. “Why did 
you allow him to bring you home again ? ” 

Then a lean and sorry nag, the poorest of 
them all, answered her. “Mistress, we did hide 
ourselves, and that so well that never in the world 
could he have found us, but a pest of flies came 
on us, and bit and stung us till for very life’s 
sake we were obliged to run back to him.” 

“That is what you should never have done ! ” 
cried the witch. Then she lifted the lash and 
beat the horses till they could hardly stand, 
but she beat the lean and sorry nag the worst 
of all.. 

“That is to teach you to obey me,” said the 
witch. “To-morrow hide yourselves in the deep 
forest where the flies cannot find you, and if 
to-morrow he brings you home with him, I 
236 


A CZECH TALE 

will beat you till you will wish you had never 
been foaled/’ 

After that the witch took a flask of ointment 
and rubbed the horses with it, and then their 
wounds were all healed, and they became as 
strong and sound as ever. 

The next day the witch awoke Jack at break 
of day and gave him some breakfast and bade 
him drive out the horses to the pasture. She 
also gave him some food wrapped in a napkin to 
carry with him. “That is in case you should 
be hungry,” said she. Jack would have refused 
it, but he did not dare. 

“And mind you bring every horse home with 
you,” said she, “even down to the leanest and 
sorriest of them. If you do not I will tear you 
into shreds and ravelings.” 

Jack drove the horses out to the pasture, and 
he took the food the witch had given him and 
buried it under a rock that he might not be 
tempted to eat it. 

Till noon time all went well. The horses 
grazed quietly, and Jack sat and watched them. 
Then all of a sudden he was seized with such a 
hunger that it was like a fierce gnawing within 
237 


THE THREE DOVES 


him. For a long time he withstood it, but at 
last he could bear it no longer. 

He went to where he had hidden the food, and 
rolled the rock away, and snatched up the 
food and ate it all, even to the very last crumb. 
No sooner had he done this than his head grew 
as heavy as lead, and he sank down in a deep 
sleep. Then all the horses galloped away into 
the wood and hid themselves. 

Toward evening Jack awoke and looked about 
him, and there was not so much as the ear of a 
horse to be seen anywhere. “Oh, but I am the 
fool! ,, cried Jack. “Why did I eat the food 
when I knew what would happen ? Now I am 
as good as lost/’ 

Then suddenly he remembered the three hairs 
the wolf had given him. He took them out and 
blew them to the winds, and called upon the wolf 
to help him. At once he saw the animal come 
galloping toward him across the fields, and with 
him was a great pack of wolves. 

“It is well you remembered me,” cried the 
wolf that Jack had befriended. “If you had not 
done so, you would assuredly have perished, but 
now we can soon bring the horses back to you.” 

238 


A CZECH TALE 


Then the wolves rushed away into the forest, 
and hunted out the horses, and snapped at their 
heel and tore at their tails until for very life’s 
sake they were obliged to come out from the 
forest and gallop back to where Jack was waiting 
for them. When they were all there, down to 
the very last one, Jack thanked the wolves and 
started for home, driving the herd before him. 

The witch was watching for him, and when she 
saw he was again bringing the horses safely 
back she ground her teeth with fury. She 
counted and recounted the horses, but they were 
every one of them there. Not one was missing. 

The witch gave Jack his supper and sent him 
to bed, and then she took down the lash from 
the wall and went out to where the horses stood 
huddled together and trembling. 

“What did I tell you ?” cried she. “Why did 
you not hide as I commanded you ? Now you 
shall have such a beating you will wish you 
were dead.” 

“Mistress,” said the lean and sorry nag, 
“ we did exactly as you told us. We went and 
hid in the dark forest, and he could never have 
found us, but a pack of wolves came ravening 
239 


THE THREE DOVES 


after us; they snapped and tore at us until for 
very life’s sake we were obliged to return to 
him.” 

“You should have let yourselves be torn to 
pieces sooner,” cried the witch, “and now you 
shall be punished as I promised you.” 

She raised the lash and beat the horses till 
they sank down under it, but the lean and sorry 
nag she beat the worst of all. Then, after a 
while, she took the flask of ointment and rubbed 
them with it, and they were healed and became 
strong and well again. 

“To-morrow,” said the witch, “the lad will 
again eat the food and fall asleep, and then you 
must run into the deep sea where neither the 
flies nor the wolves can find you, and hide there.” 

The next day the lad set out for the pasture 
again, driving the horses before him, but before 
he left the house the witch gave him some food 
wrapped in a napkin for him to carry with 
him. Jack dared not refuse to take it, but as 
soon as he came to the pasture, he took the food 
and scattered it about, and ground it into the 
earth with his heel, so that it was hard to tell 
which was food and which was dirt. 


240 


A CZECH TALE 


“That puts an end to that,” said Jack, and 
then he sat down to watch the horses. 

Till noon all went well. The herd grazed 
quietly, and Jack had no wish either to eat or 
sleep, and then at noon he was suddenly seized 
with such a hunger it seemed as though he would 
die of it. At last he could bear it no longer. He 
went to where he had ground the food into the 
earth and managed to pick up a few small pieces. 
These he ate, and then, as before, he fell into 
a deep sleep. Immediately the horses lifted their 
heads and away they went. This time it was 
neither in the fields nor in the wood they hid. 
They ran straight down into the sea, with the 
water splashing up around them, and hid in its 
depths. , 

When Jack awoke they were gone, and he did 
not know where to find them. For a while he 
was in despair, and then he remembered the crab 
that had promised to help him. He went down 
to the seashore and threw the claw into the water, 
and called to it, and at once it appeared from the 
deeps; it did not keep him waiting. 

Jack told it the whole story. “And now,” 
said he, “the horses have gone again, and I do 
241 


THE THREE DOVES 


not know where to find them, and yet unless I 
can take them home with me, the witch will 
certainly tear me to pieces.” 

“Have no fear of that,” said the crab. “We 
will not let that happen. I can tell you exactly 
where the horses have gone. They are hiding 
in the deepest part of the deep sea, but I and my 
crabs can soon drive them out on dry land again.” 

The crab disappeared into the sea. There 
it gathered together a great multitude of crabs, 
and they crawled about here and there and 
everywhere, and wherever they found a horse 
they pinched it so bitterly with their sharp 
claws that the horses were obliged, for very life’s 
sake, to run out on dry land again. 

Only the lean and sorry nag they could not 
find, for he had hidden under the great Queen 
Crab, and wherever the crab moved, there the 
nag moved also. The crab hunted everywhere 
for him and then at last it put its claws down 
under it, and there it felt him. Then it gave 
him such a pinch that he neighed aloud, and 
was obliged to run out from the sea and up on 
the shore with the others. Jack was glad 
enough to see him. 


242 


A CZECH TALE 


He thanked the crabs and drove the horses 
back before him to the witch’s house. 

When the witch saw him coming with all 
the herd trotting along before him she was so 
filled with fury that she was ready to tear the 
flesh off their bones. She counted them over 
and over again, but they were all there. Not 
one was missing. 

“Well,” said she to Jack, “you have won 
your reward and to that I cannot say no. And 
now you have only to name it, and it is yours.” 

“Then,” said Jack, “I will take the poor lean 
nag, for I feel sorry for him, and I mean to treat 
him kindly.” 

When the old witch heard that, she turned 
green in the face, but she spoke to the lad gently 
and in a wheedling tone. 

“Not so! Not so! That would be a poor 
reward indeed. You have served me well, and 
I mean to give you the finest and handsomest 
steed in my herd, for that is your due.” 

But Jack would not listen to this. The poor 
nag was the one he wanted, and that was the 
one he would have and no other. At last the 
witch was obliged to give in to him. 

243 


THE THREE DOVES 


“ If you will have it, you will,” said she, 
“but you shall never say you were not well 
paid. You shall have the poor nag, but you 
shall also have the handsomest steed of them 
all. You shall ride the handsome steed, for 
it is fat and strong, and the lean, poor nag shall 
run beside you.” 

Well, Jack could not refuse. He took the 
handsome steed and mounted it, and the lean 
nag ran on beside him. But as soon as they were 
out of sight of the witch’s house Jack jumped 
down from the handsome steed and mounted 
the poor nag, and let the fine one run on free. 

“Master, you have done well and wisely,” 
said the nag. “Presently we will come to a 
stone gateway, and we will have to go through 
it. If you had ridden the handsome steed, it 
would have crushed your head against the gate¬ 
way, as we passed through, but riding me not 
a hair of your head shall be hurt.” 

Presently, as the horse had said, they came to 
the stone gateway and went through it, and 
this they did safely. Then Jack took a stick 
and drove the handsome horse back toward the 
witch’s house, for he did not wish it to follow 
244 


A CZECH TALE 


him, but he and the nag went on until they came 
to the edge of the Red Sea. 

Then the crabs came up through the water 
by thousands and thousands and made a road¬ 
way with their backs, and Jack rode over them 
and so came to the other side. 

Again Jack and his nag traveled onward a short 
way and a long way and so came at last to the 
Princess’s castle. There the nag neighed loud 
and long, and at once the fine black steed came 
running out to meet them, and he and Jack’s 
nag were glad enough to see each other, for they 
were own brothers, and it was many a long year 
since they had been together. 

But not long did they tarry where they 
were. Almost at once they set out for the 
Dragon’s house, and when they drew near it, 
there was the Princess at the window watching 
for them, for the Dragon was away from home. 

When she saw Jack and the two steeds, she 
cried aloud for joy and ran down to meet them. 

Jack lifted her up and set her on the black 
steed, and he rode the poor nag and back they 
went, fast, fast, — the way they had come. 

Not long after the Princess had gone the 
24s 


THE THREE DOVES 


Dragon returned home. When he could not 
find her anywhere in any of the rooms, he knew 
what had become of her, and he ran down to 
the stable and led out his steed and sprang upon 
its back. 

“Master,” said the steed, “we can never over¬ 
take the Princess this time.” 

[ “That we must do,” cried the Dragon, “or 
your life shall answer for it.” 

Then away they went, fast as the wind blows 
and faster. 

Presently the nag that Jack was riding bade 
the lad turn and look behind him. “I hear a 
terrible noise,” said he, “and it must be the 
Dragon coming.” 

Jack turned and looked behind him. 

“Yes, it is the Dragon, and he rides so swiftly 
it will not be long before he is here.” 

“Then light down,” cried the nag, “for the 
time has come for him to meet his punishment.” 

So Jack alighted from his steed, and the 
Princess did likewise. 

Up came the Dragon, raging, and would have 
seized the Princess, but the two horses flew at 
him and attacked him before he could touch 
246 


A CZECH TALE 


her. Then the Dragon’s own steed threw off 
the monster, and bit and tore at him. Against 
the three of them the Dragon could do but little, 
and before long they had torn him into a 
thousand pieces. 

Then there was great rejoicing among them 
all, and Jack and the Princess mounted again 
and rode on until they came to the castle, and 
when the two sisters saw them coming they 
cried aloud and wept for joy. 

But the nag from over the Red Sea turned to 
Jack and bade him take down the sword that 
hung on the castle wall and cut off his head and 
the head of his two brothers. This Jack was 
loath to do, but the nag said to him, “We have 
served you well, and now it is your turn to help 
us, and only by cutting off our heads can you 
restore us to our true shapes again.” 

Then Jack took down the sword and did as the 
nag demanded ; he cut off the heads of the three 
steeds, and at once, in place of the horses, there 
stood three fine young Princes, as handsome as 
one could wish to look upon. 

Then they all rejoiced again, and the Princes 
entered into their Castle and took possession of 
247 


THE THREE DOVES 


it, and they and their two sisters lived there 
happily together for many a long year, but Jack 
and his dear wife returned home the way they 
had come, and lived happy forever after, and 
the widow was so glad to see the two of them 
again that she almost died of happiness. 


248 


MIGHTY-ARM AND MIGHTY-MOUTH 
An East Indian Story 

In two neighboring villages there once lived 
two men who were as great rascals as one could 
find in a seven-days journey. One was called 
Mighty-arm and that was because his strength 
was so great that no one could stand against 
him. The other was called Mighty-mouth, 
and he had the power of arguing so cleverly 
that he could make one believe black was white 
if he only talked long enough. 

Whenever these two men met, they began to 
dispute and quarrel together as to which of 
them was the greater, but they never could 
come to an agreement. 

“ Listen,” said Mighty-mouth one day. “You 
and I are always quarreling, and yet we never 
get anywhere. Do you come and live with me 
for a while. No doubt there will be many times 
249 


MIGHTY-ARM AND MIGHTY-MOUTH 


when we can make trial, you with your strength 
and I with my wit, and then we can see which 
comes out better, and so decide the matter 
without further argument.” 

To this Mighty-arm readily agreed. He 
packed up his goods and chattels and came to 
live with Mighty-mouth. 

Now not long after they began living together 
the feast of the Goddess Kiva came round, and the 
two rascals wished to offer up a sacrifice to her. 

Said Mighty-arm to Mighty-mouth, “Is it 
right that two fellows as mighty as we should be 
obliged to pay money for a sacrifice ? ” 

“No,” answered Mighty-mouth, “it is not 
right nor will we do so. Close by a shepherd has 
his sheepfold, and to-night we will go there and 
manage to steal a sheep from him. In this 
way we will have a sacrifice to offer up in a 
proper manner, and still it will cost us nothing.” 

“That is well said,” agreed Mighty-arm, “and 
it is a good plan. But after all you could not 
carry the plan out except for my strength, for 
I will have to carry the sheep home.” 

“Well, we will see how matters turn out,” 
replied Mighty-mouth. 

250 


AN EAST INDIAN STORY 


So that very evening, as soon as it began to 
grow dark, the two rascals set out together. 
They crept up close to the sheepfold without 
being seen by the shepherd, and there they lay 
and waited for him to go home, for, as soon as 
he did, they intended to enter the fold and choose 
a sheep to carry away with them. 

Already it was time for the shepherd to go 
home for his supper, but the boy who generally 
came to watch the sheep while he was away 
had not arrived. The shepherd became more 
and more impatient. He was afraid his supper 
would grow cold, and at last he determined to 
wait no longer. He took his staff and stuck it 
in the ground, and hung his blanket about it 
so that it looked like a figure standing there. 
Then he cried out in a loud voice, “Boy, I am 
going home for my supper. Do you stay here 
and watch, and if any goblins or hoblins should 
come here to steal the sheep, call to me and I 
will come quickly.” The shepherd said, “gob¬ 
lins or hoblins ”, not because there is any such 
thing as a hoblin, but because he liked to rhyme 
words. 

After he had spoken in this way, he hurried 
251 


MIGHTY-ARM AND MIGHTY-MOUTH 


off home without even once looking behind him, 
so eager was he to get his supper. 

“Brother,” said Mighty-arm, “did you hear 
what the shepherd said ? He has left a boy there 
to watch the sheep. We will have no chance 
to steal one, after all. We might as well have 
saved ourselves the journey for all the good we 
will get out of it.” 

But Mighty-mouth laughed in his stomach 
quietly. “Do you not see,” said he, “that the 
pretended boy is only the shepherd’s staff that 
he has left sticking in the ground with his 
blanket wrapped around it ? He said what he 
did to deceive any robbers who might be lurk¬ 
ing near. As soon as he is out of hearing, 
we will go in and make our choice among the 
sheep.” 

Now it so happened a.goblin had been hid¬ 
ing in a tree top near by, and he also had 
overheard what the shepherd had said. He had 
never heard of a hoblin before, and as he was 
very curious by nature, he determined to slip 
into the sheepfold and lie hidden there until a 
hoblin came along and then to have a good look 
at it. So he slipped unperceived into the sheep- 
252 


AN EAST INDIAN STORY 

fold, and there changed himself into a fine 
large sheep, and lay down among the others. 

A little while afterward the two rascals also 
came into the fold. They began to feel about 
among the sheep to find which was the largest 
and fattest. When they came to the goblin, 
Mighty-mouth said, “ Here! This is the one 
we will take. Lift it up quickly and let us be¬ 
gone before the shepherd returns.” 

The goblin had no wish to be carried away 
by the hoblins (for such he supposed them to 
be), so he at once made himself very heavy — 
as heavy as ten sheep, thinking it would be 
impossible to lift such a weight. But Mighty- 
arm picked him up without difficulty, and 
setting him on his head, started out at once, 
followed by Mighty-mouth. 

The goblin was frightened. “These hoblins 
are very strong indeed,” thought he. “He 
lifted me without trouble, heavy though I 
made myself. I doubt whether I would have 
much chance if it came to a trial of strength 
between us. I had better make him put me 
down and then escape as best I can.” 

With this idea he began to use his magic to 
253 


MIGHTY-ARM AND MIGHTY-MOUTH 


send pains down into Mighty-arm ; he sent pains 
into his head and into his neck and into his body 
and into his arms. The sweat ran down from 
the great man’s forehead. 

“Oh! Oh!” he groaned. “This sheep is 
giving me such pains that I doubt whether I 
can carry him farther. I do not believe it is 
a sheep at all, but a goblin who has taken this 
shape.” 

Mighty-mouth was frightened when he heard 
this, but instead of showing his fear he cried, 
“If he is a goblin then I am a hoblin” (for he 
remembered what the shepherd had said). “ Put 
him down, and we will tear him in two and see 
what is inside of him.” 

When the goblin heard this, he was so terrified 
that he melted away from Mighty-arnTs head 
like smoke, though this was a difficult and pain¬ 
ful thing for him to do. 

Mighty-arm began to shake and shiver. 
“That was of a truth a goblin,” cried he, “and 
now I misdoubt me that he will soon come back 
to punish us for our bold talk.” 

“Not he!” cried Mighty-mouth. “We 
have given him such a fright he will be careful 
2 54 



? I do not believe it is a sheep at all, but a goblin who 
has taken this shape/' Page 254. 






AN EAST INDIAN STORY 

enough to keep away from us. Have no fear of 
him.” 

So conversing, the two rogues made their way 
home again, no better off than when they started 
out. 

Meanwhile the goblin had taken on his own 
shape and had hastened back to rejoin his fel¬ 
lows. He was still so frightened by the threat 
of Mighty-mouth that his teeth chattered in 
his head. 

“Over yonder,” cried he, “are two hoblins. 
They are so strong they could carry an ox and 
think nothing of it, and so fierce that they 
would tear you to pieces just to see what is 
inside.” 

“A hoblin!” cried another. “I never heard 
of a hoblin.” 

“Oh, they are very fierce and terrible, as I 
tell you. A goblin has no chance at all against 
them.” 

The other goblins listened and wondered. 
They began to feel very much troubled. Then 
the boldest among them said, “If this is the case, 
we had better all go together at once and destroy 
them. Even if they are as terrible as you say, 
2 55 


MIGHTY-ARM AND MIGHTY-MOUTH 

two of them could do little against so many of 
us.” 

To this the other goblins agreed, and at once 
they set out in search of the powerful ones. 

Now Mighty-mouth always slept inside his 
house with his wife and children, but Mighty- 
arm slept on the porch, because there was no 
room for him within. 

When the goblins arrived at the house, 
Mighty-arm was asleep, but their stirs and 
whisperings soon awoke him. He rose on his 
elbow and listened, and it did not take him 
long to learn who they were and why they had 
come. At once he was filled with fear. 

He rolled over on his side and crawled into 
the house, and aroused Mighty-mouth. “The 
goblins have come,” he whispered. “They are 
outside talking together. They have come here 
to punish us, and they are so many that we will 
have no chance at all against them.” 

“Do not let that disturb you,” answered 
Mighty-mouth. “Do you go out and lie down 
where you were and pretend to be asleep, and 
I will manage this matter so that no harm shall 
come to either of us.” 

256 


AN EAST INDIAN STORY 


Mighty-arm did as he was bidden. He crept 
back to his sleeping place, and lay down and 
breathed quietly as though he were asleep, 
though in reality he was trembling with fear. 

Meanwhile Mighty-mouth awoke his wife and 
told her of the goblins and how he intended to 
drive them away. He bade her get up and light 
a fire and begin to prepare a supper. “Then 
presently,” said he, “I will arise and follow you.” 
He would then say thus and so to her, and she 
was to answer this, that, and the other. 

His wife agreed to do as he said, and at once 
arose and made a fire and set about cooking a 
supper. Soon after Mighty-mouth followed her. 
“How is this ? ” he cried in a loud voice. “Where 
are the goblins I brought home yesterday and 
told you to cook for me ? ” 

His wife pretended to be frightened at his 
tone. “Oh, my dear husband, I beg you will 
not be angry,” she shouted, “but when the chil¬ 
dren came home to-day they demanded sweet¬ 
meats, and as I had none to give them, they took 
the three goblins and had them eaten before I 
could stop them.” 

Mighty-mouth began to stamp and roar 
257 


MIGHTY-ARM AND MIGHTY-MOUTH 


about. He declared if he could not have 
goblins for supper he would eat nothing. For 
a long time he raged and scolded, but the goblins 
did not wait to hear him out. A man whose 
children ate goblins instead of sweetmeats was 
too fierce for them to fight against. Away they 
went, pell-mell, each one with but one thought, 
and that was to get away before the hoblin 
could catch him. Nor did they stop nor stay 
but fled till they came to a deep forest so faraway 
they hoped the hoblins would never find it and 
that they might be able to live in safety and 
undiscovered by the mighty ones. 

Now after a while it so happened that Mighty- 
arm and Mighty-mouth set out on a journey, 
and their way lay through this very forest 
where the goblins had taken shelter. They 
walked along together briskly, but when night 
came on they were still in the forest, and in 
order to be safe from wild animals they climbed 
up into a tree, intending to rest there until 
daylight. 

Now it so happened the goblins had their 
meeting place under this very selfsame tree 
into which the two rascals had climbed. 

258 


AN EAST INDIAN STORY 


Toward midnight the goblins began to gather. 
They came rushing through the woods, some 
from one direction and some from another, and 
they built a fire and gathered around it to 
talk. 

Now when Mighty-arm looked down and saw 
below him his old enemies, the goblins, gathered 
together in vast numbers, he was so frightened 
he began to shake and shiver. He shook so 
hard he lost his hold on the branch where he 
was sitting, and down he came with a great 
sound of crashing and tearing, and fell right 
into the middle of the fire the goblins had 
built. 

That would have been the end of him — the 
goblins were ready to fall upon him and tear 
him to pieces — but Mighty-mouth called out 
from the tree above, “ Brother! Brother! do not 
hurt them. Leave them alone for a while. You 
have had ten goblins for your supper. Can’t 
you wait until to-morrow to catch them ? ” 

When the goblins heard this, and recognized 
the voice of the hoblin whose children ate 
goblins for sweetmeats, they were so frightened 
they fled away through the forest and no one 
259 


MIGHTY-ARM AND MIGHTY-MOUTH 

ever knew what became of them, but they never 
were seen again. 

But Mighty-mouth and Mighty-arm went 
along safely together to their journey’s end, 
and Mighty-arm was obliged to confess that 
words are often greater than deeds in this world, 
particularly if one is dealing with goblins. 


260 


THE BEAUTIFUL MELISSA 
A Louisiana Tale 

There was once a lady who was so very beau¬ 
tiful that in all the world there was no one to 
compare with her in beauty. She was so 
proud of her looks that she made a vow never 
to marry unless she could find some one as hand¬ 
some as herself to wed with. Many rich noble¬ 
men came from far and near to court her, but 
she would have none of them. 

“You are wasting your time,” said she. 
“Do you think any one of you is as handsome 
as I am ? I do not; and until I find some one 
who is my match for beauty, I will never 
marry.” 

Then the gentlemen went away ashamed and 
disappointed. 

Last of all there came to the lady’s house a 
stranger, very finely dressed and magnificent 
261 


THE BEAUTIFUL MELISSA 


looking. He rode in a golden chariot drawn 
by six coal-black horses, and he scattered money 
about him like water, but he was not handsome ; 
indeed he was almost ugly to look at, he was so 
coarse and swarthy. When he came before 
the lady she gave a shriek and hid her eyes so 
as not to see him. 

“Go! go!” she cried. “I cannot bear to 
look at you. After all the handsome men I 
have turned away, do you think I would con¬ 
sider you ? Go, I tell you. It makes me quite 
faint even to have you in the room with me.” 

When the stranger heard this he became very 
angry. “You think yourself so beautiful that 
no one in the world is fit to marry you ? ” said 
he. “That is as it may be, but now I will 
tell you something. Within a year you shall 
have a daughter, and that daughter shall as far 
outshine you in beauty as the moon outshines 
the stars in splendor.” 

Then he returned to his coach and drove 
away. 

At first the lady was troubled over what the 
stranger had said to her, but then she con¬ 
sidered that he had been angry, and that what 
262 


A LOUISIANA TALE 


he said probably meant nothing, and she be¬ 
came easy again, and she fell as usual to looking 
at herself in the mirror, and admiring her eyes 
and her color and the shape of her mouth and 
her eyebrows. 

But though the lady did not know it, the 
stranger who had come to court her was a magi¬ 
cian, and had the power to bring about many 
things and to foretell events. So, sure enough, 
within the year, just as he had promised, the 
lady had a daughter, and this child was so 
beautiful that she was the wonder of all who saw 
her. She was far more lovely than her mother. 

The lady was filled with rage and despair over 
this. She could not bear to think any one 
in the world was more beautiful than she, 
and she began to plot and plan as to how she 
could rid herself of the child. Every day the 
girl lived she became more fair and lovely, until 
at last the lady felt she could not bear it even 
a day longer. She sent for the old nurse who 
had charge of Melissa (for so the girl was called) 
and bade her take her away and kill her. 

The nurse was horrified when she heard this. 
“ How could I do such a thing ? ” she cried. 

263 


THE BEAUTIFUL MELISSA 


“I love the child dearly, and she is too beauti¬ 
ful to perish.” 

This saying of the nurse only increased the 
lady’s anger. “ Beauty or no beauty,” she cried, 
“you must do as I bid you. If you do not, I 
will give her to some one else who will obey 
me.” 

“Very well,” said the nurse; “what must be 
must be, but first let me talk to Melissa quietly. 
She is so good and gentle I know she would wish 
to do your bidding, and even to rid herself of 
her life if you desired it.” 

“Talk to her all you like,” said the lady, 
“only this I tell you: I will never look at her 
again, nor even have her in the same world 
with me.” 

The old nurse then went to Melissa and told 
her all that her mother had said. “I myself 
cannot bear to kill you,” said she; “but look! 
Here are three small red seeds, and they have 
very wonderful powers. The first of these 
seeds will make you invisible; the second will 
take away all sense of feeling, and the third 
will throw you into a deep sleep. Put the first 
seed into your mouth and you can pass out of 
264 


A LOUISIANA TALE 


the house unseen. Follow the road that leads 
to the forest, and you will come to a well that 
is full of water. When you arrive there put 
the second seed into your mouth; you will 
then lose all sense of feeling whether of pain or 
of anxiety or trouble. You can then throw 
yourself into the well without any trouble, 
and all will be over, and your mother’s wishes 
will be obeyed.” 

Weeping, Melissa took the seeds and promised 
to do as the old nurse told her. She put the first 
seed in her mouth and at once became invisible, 
and was able to go out of the house without 
being seen by any one. She followed the road 
to the forest until she came to the well the nurse 
had told her of. Here she knelt down and prayed 
that her soul might be received into Heaven. 
She then took the second seed in her fingers, 
intending to swallow it, but her hand shook so 
that it slipped through her fingers and fell into the 
well. Now the magic of the seed was such that 
as soon as it touched the water, the water sank 
down into the earth and disappeared, and the 
well became perfectly dry. 

Melissa now did not know what to do. It 
265 


THE BEAUTIFUL MELISSA 


was impossible to drown herself in the well, 
for there was no water, and yet she did not 
dare to return to the house and meet the anger 
of her mother. She determined to go on into 
the forest, hoping that the wild beasts there 
would devour her. But that was not what 
happened. So beautiful was she and so gentle 
that the beasts all shrank away into the shadows 
when she came near them, and not one of them 
would harm her. 

Melissa wandered on deeper and deeper 
into the wood, and just before evening she came 
to a dark and gloomy looking house. She 
knocked at the door, and it was opened to her 
by an old, old woman, — so old that her eyes 
were almost sunk out of sight, and her chin and 
her nose met. As soon as the woman saw 
Melissa she began to cry out and lament. 

“What are you doing here, unhappy one? 
Do you know this house belongs to an ogre. 
Haste! Haste to escape while there is time! 
If he returns and finds you here, he will certainly 
tear you in pieces.” 

“That is exactly what I wish,” said Melissa. 
“What you say does not frighten me, for I wish 
266 


A LOUISIANA TALE 


to be torn in pieces. My mother hates me, and 
I have no desire to live, and if the ogre will 
destroy me, I will be very thankful.” 

The old woman would still have driven her 
away, but Melissa begged so piteously to be 
allowed to enter that at last the crone could re¬ 
fuse her no longer. She allowed her to come in 
and sit beside the stove in the kitchen, and her 
beauty shone so brightly that the whole room 
was lighted by it. 

Not long after this, the ogre came home, and 
the moment he was in the house he began to 
sniff about. “What is this I smell?” he cried. 
“Some one is here who was not here when I 
left this morning ! ” 

“You speak truth,” said the old woman. 
“A girl has come here since you left, and is 
even now sitting by the stove in the kitchen, 
but she is so fair and so gentle that after you 
have seen her I am sure you will not have the 
heart to devour her.” 

“What does it matter how she looks if she 
will make good eating,” cried the ogre; and he 
rushed into the kitchen, intending to devour 
Melissa at once with no more words about it. 

267 


THE BEAUTIFUL MELISSA 

But no sooner did he see her than the fierceness 
melted out of him because of her beauty, and 
he became quite gentle. 

“Do not be afraid of me, fair one,” said he. 
“I will not harm you. I only want to look at 
you and admire your beauty.” 

“No, no,” cried Melissa. “I wish to be de¬ 
voured. It was because I hoped you would 
tear me to pieces that I waited for you.” 

Her voice was so sweet that the ogre was more 
delighted with her than ever. 

“How gentle your voice is ! ” he cried. “And 
how bright your eyes are. They are like stars 
for brightness. I would be content to look in 
them forever.” 

When Melissa heard this she became des¬ 
perate. It seemed as though there were no 
way by which she could put an end to her¬ 
self. She thought perhaps, if she were asleep 
and her eyes closed, the ogre might forget 
her beauty and be tempted to devour her, 
so she took out the third seed and placed it 
between her lips. At once she sank down in a 
slumber so deep that it was almost like death. 

The ogre was distracted. He shouted to 
268 


A LOUISIANA TALE 


the old woman to come quickly, and together 
they did all they could to arouse Melissa, but 
all in vain. She lay there without sound or 
movement, only her breast rose and fell softly 
with her breathing. 

All night the ogre and the old woman watched 
beside Melissa, and in the morning, when the 
ogre set out upon his business, he bade the crone 
guard her carefully and see that no harm came 
to her while he was away. All through the day 
Melissa slept, and the next day, and for days 
after that, so that it seemed she never would 
awaken. And all this while the ogre did 
nothing to harm her, and the old woman 
guarded her as though she were their greatest 
treasure. 

Now far away on the other side of the forest 
was the Kingdom of the Peacocks. The young 
King who ruled over this country was so hand¬ 
some that it was said there was not his equal 
for looks in the whole wide world. 

The story of his beauty was brought to the 
lady who was the mother of Melissa, and it 
seemed to her that here at last was some one 
who was worthy to be her husband. She sent 
269 


THE BEAUTIFUL MELISSA 

messengers to invite him to come to visit her, 
and this the young King was not loath to do, for 
he also had heard of her beauty, and was 
curious to see her. So one day he set out to 
journey to the place where she lived, with only 
one faithful servant as an attendant. The way 
led them through the forest, and the forest was 
so deep and dark that they lost their way in 
it. After a time they chanced upon the ogre’s 
house, and the young King bade his servant 
knock and inquire the way. This the man did, 
and when he returned he said to his master, 
“ Your Highness, I have just seen a very wonder¬ 
ful sight. In there a maiden is lying asleep, 
and I am sure in all the world there is no one 
to equal her for beauty; the whole room shines 
with it. The old woman says she lies there 
sleeping night and day, and nothing can awaken 
her.” 

When the King heard this he became very 
curious, and bade his servant hold his horse 
while he himself went in to look at the maiden. 

No sooner had the King entered the room 
where Melissa lay, and looked upon her beauty, 
than he fell deeply in love with her. He en- 
270 


A LOUISIANA TALE 


treated the old woman to give her to him, but 
she refused. She feared what the ogre might 
do if he returned and found the maiden gone. 
The King, however, would not be denied, and 
he was so urgent that at last the old woman 
consented to let him take Melissa with him. 

At once the King took the sleeping beauty 
and mounted her on his horse in front of him. 
Then he and his servant returned in haste the 
way they had come to his own kingdom. 

The King, as soon as he arrived in his palace, 
had a magnificent couch prepared for Melissa. 
It was covered with cloth of gold and hung about 
with flowers. Upon this Melissa was laid, and 
the longer the King looked at her the more 
beautiful she appeared to him. 

All the best physicians were summoned by the 
King from far and near, to try to waken her from 
her sleep, but not one of them could rouse her. 

Now there was in the palace an old woman 
who was very wise. She had been the King’s 
nurse when he was a baby. One day she came 
to him and said, “ Your Majesty, I feel sure there 
is some magic about this sleep. All the physi¬ 
cians in your country have tried to waken her 
271 


THE BEAUTIFUL MELISSA 


and cannot, and they are not able to understand 
why she still slumbers. If you will allow me, 
I would like to look into this matter. ,, 

To this the King agreed, though he had little 
hopes that the old nurse could do anything. 
The woman came in to where Melissa was and 
began to examine her very carefully. She 
examined her feet and her hands and even her 
nails, and looked to see whether there was a 
poisoned pin or any like thing about her, but 
she could see nothing. Last of all she parted 
Melissa’s lips, and there she saw a tiny red seed 
caught between the girl’s teeth. She called the 
King to look at it, and then, very carefully, she 
removed it. 

At once Melissa gave a deep sigh and opened 
her eyes and looked about her. What was her 
amazement to find herself lying on a couch in 
a palace and with the handsomest young man 
she had ever imagined kneeling beside her. 

The King told Melissa who he was, and how 
he had found her in the ogre’s castle, and had 
brought her here without her awakening. He 
also told her how he had been watching over 
her night and day, and that he loved her so 
272 


A LOUISIANA TALE 


dearly that he desired nothing on earth so much 
as to have her for a wife. 

Melissa was very willing to marry him, for 
he was so handsome and spoke to her so tenderly 
that her heart filled with love for him, and she 
was happy to think she would be his Queen and 
live with him forever. 

So as soon as possible they were married with 
great pomp and rejoicing. People were invited 
from far and near and great crowds came to the 
wedding. Among all the others came Melissa’s 
lady mother. She wished to see the bride the 
King had chosen, and she also wished the King 
to see how beautiful she herself was, and to re¬ 
gret her. 

But when she came into the palace, and saw 
that the King’s bride was no other than her 
daughter Melissa, and that she was far more 
beautiful than ever, she almost died with hatred 
and envy. She had to be carried out from the 
palace fainting, and she turned quite green with 
envy so that her beauty all departed. 

But as for the King and Melissa, they lived in 
happiness forever after, and ruled their king¬ 
dom peacefully and with great wisdom. 

273 


THE CASTLE THAT STOOD ON GOLDEN 
PILLARS 

Adapted from a Danish Story 

Peter the peasant and Anna his wife were 
always quarreling. If one said yes, the other 
said no ; if one said black, the other said white. 

One day they had porridge for dinner, and 
after they had eaten they began to quarrel as 
to who should scrape the pot. One wanted it, 
and the other wanted it, and at last the woman 
snatched it away from her husband and ran 
out of the house with it. Her husband caught 
up the ladle and ran after her, and he meant to 
give her a good beating when he caught her; 
and so away they went, up hill and down dale, 
over rock and through briers, and at last were 
lost to sight in the distance. 

Now the husband and wife left behind them 
two children, a boy and a girl. The boy was a 
274 


ADAPTED FROM A DANISH STORY 


cross-grained, ugly fellow, but the girl was as 
pretty and sweet as they make them. 

After the parents had gone, the children lived 
along together for a while, and then the boy 
said, “Now we will divide what is left, for it is 
plain to see the old man and woman are not com¬ 
ing back, and I have a mind to take my share 
and start out in the world to seek my fortune.” 

Now that was all very well, but there was 
nothing to divide but a cow and the little house¬ 
dog named Prisse. The boy said, “I will take 
the cow for my share.” 

The girl would rather have had the cow, too, 
for it seemed the dog would be of little use to her, 
but the boy did not care what his sister desired 
in the matter. He put a halter about the cow’s 
neck, and off he set, leading her behind him, 
and the girl never saw either of them again. 

Very sorrowfully she called the little dog to 
follow her, and she too set off to try to find a 
place where she could take service. 

Presently the little dog said to her, “Do not 
be so sad and sorrowful. You got the best of 
that bargain by keeping me instead of the cow, 
for I intend to make your fortune for you.” 

2 75 


THE CASTLE ON GOLDEN PILLARS 


“How can you make my fortune for me, 
dear Prisse ? ” 

“Never mind, but I shall do it; and you shall 
not have so very long to wait, either.” 

The girl felt more cheerful when she heard 
this and walked along briskly in the way she 
had chosen. 

After a while they came to a forest, and over 
beyond lay a beautiful palace. 

“Now listen,” said Prisse. “The time has 
come for me to do as I promised. Over in 
yon castle lives a fine young Prince, and he is 
the ruler over all this country. I intend that 
you shall become his Princess, but in order to 
accomplish this, you must do in every way ex¬ 
actly as I tell you.” 

“Very well, I am willing,” answered the girl, 
“for I should very much like to become a Prin¬ 
cess.” 

“Then, first of all, unbind your hair and 
shake it down about you.” 

This the girl did, and her hair was so long and 
thick and shining that it covered her all over 
like a golden mantle. 

“Now strip off all your garments but your 
276 


ADAPTED FROM A DANISH STORY 


shift and hide yourself yonder in the hollow of 
that oak tree.” 

This also the girl did, and after she was hidden 
the little dog scratched a hole in the ground and 
buried her clothes. 

“Now do you stay hidden there until I re¬ 
turn,” said Prisse, and then he ran away in the 
direction of the castle. 

As soon as the little dog arrived at the castle 
gate, he began to beat upon it and call aloud for 
help. The attendants came running and asked 
him what was the matter. 

“The Princess! Oh, my poor mistress, the 
Princess of Dogalene !”* cried Prisse. “Take 
me at once to your master that I may tell him 
what has happened to her.” The little dog 
cried so loudly and so sharply and so con¬ 
tinuously that the attendants were almost 
deafened and made haste to lead him to their 
young master, the Prince of the castle. As 
soon as Prisse was brought before the Prince, 
he threw himself flat on the ground and cried 
even still more loudly, “Help! Help, I pray 
you, for my mistress the beautiful Princess of 
Dogalene.” 


277 


THE CASTLE ON GOLDEN PILLARS 


“What has happened to your mistress ?” 
inquired the Prince. 

“She was out walking in her palace gardens 
in the kingdom of Dogalene, when she was set 
upon by a band of robbers who carried her 
away to the forest over yonder. They robbed 
her of all her fine garments and jewels and left 
her there. Even now she is hiding in a hollow 
tree clad in nothing but her shift and her mantle 
of golden hair, and unless you send succor to 
her, and that right speedily, I fear she will 
perish.” 

The Prince was filled with pity at the thought 
of such misfortunes coming upon a Princess. 
He bade his attendants bring garments and jew¬ 
els, the finest in the castle, and at once set out 
with the little dog to carry them to the Princess. 

Prisse led them to the edge of the forest and 
bade them wait there for a bit. He took the 
clothes and jewels they had brought and carried 
them to the hollow tree where the girl was hiding. 
He gave them to her and bade her put them on. 
This she did, and when she was so arrayed she 
was so beautiful that there never was anything 
like it. Prisse then led her back to where the 
278 


ADAPTED FROM A DANISH STORY 


Prince and his attendants were waiting, and no 
sooner did the Prince see her than he was over¬ 
come by her beauty and wished for nothing in 
the world so much as to have her for his wife. 

The peasant girl was mounted on a fine horse 
and rode back to the palace side by side with 
the Prince, talking with him very pleasantly. 

As they alighted at the castle door, the old 
Queen came out to meet them, and she too was 
amazed at the beauty of the girl and greatly 
admired her. But when she heard that her son 
wished to marry the stranger, she was not so well 
content. “How do we know who this girl is, 
or where she comes from ? ” thought she to her¬ 
self. “The little dog says she is a Princess, 
but for all we know she may be nothing but a 
common peasant. ,, So she begged her son to 
wait for a while before preparing for the wedding. 

The Prince was loath to do this, but at last 
he consented, and the Queen determined that 
while they were waiting she would find out for 
certain whether the girl were a Princess. She 
took a bean and hid it under the mattress of 
the girl’s bed. “For if she is indeed a Prin¬ 
cess,” thought she, “her body will be so soft 
279 


THE CASTLE ON GOLDEN PILLARS 


and fine she will feel the bean even through the 
mattress.” 

But Prisse was hidden in the room when the 
Queen came in with the bean; he saw her hide 
it under the mattress, and he at once guessed 
what she was about. 

After the Queen had gone away, he ran and 
told the girl what he had seen, and he also 
told her what she must say and how she must 
act the following day. 

That night the girl went to bed as usual, and 
the next morning, as soon as she arose, the Queen 
came in to greet her and asked her how she had 
slept. 

At once the girl began to complain, for that is 
what the little dog had told her she must do. 
“I do not know what was the matter,” she said, 
“but the bed seemed to be full of stones, and 
I think I must be bruised black and blue. It 
was very different in my kingdom of Dogalene, 
for there my bed was so soft and smooth that 
there never was anything to disturb me.” 

When the old Queen heard this, she thought 
the girl must indeed be a Princess. If she had 
been a peasant surely one bean would not have 
280 


ADAPTED FROM A DANISH STORY 


disturbed her. Still she was not entirely satis¬ 
fied, and when she thought no one was looking, 
she stole into the girl’s room and hid three straws 
under her pillow. 

But Prisse was watching, and told the girl 
what had been done and what she must say the 
next day. 

The following morning the Queen came again 
to the girl’s room and asked her how she had 
slept. 

“Poorly enough,” answered the girl. “I 
do not know what was the matter, but it felt 
as though there were great logs under my head 
instead of a pillow. It was different enough in 
my kingdom of Dogalene, for there I slept 
softly and sweetly.” 

The Queen thought none but a Princess could 
have been so uncomfortable just because there 
were three straws under her pillow, but still 
she determined to make one more test. She 
bade the girl’s attendants dress her in a magnifi¬ 
cent robe with a long train that trailed for yards 
behind her. The robe was of golden tissue, and 
the train was of velvet embroidered with threads 
of gold and precious stones. After she was 
281 


THE CASTLE ON GOLDEN PILLARS 


dressed, and while she was waiting for her at¬ 
tendants to come for her, Prisse came running 
into the room and looked at her with wonder. 
“Where are you going, my dear Princess ?” 
he asked, — for so he always called her. 

“Oh, I am going out to walk in the garden 
with the Queen and her ladies-in-waiting.” 

“Now mind what I say,” said Prisse. “When 
you are walking in the garden, do not lift your 
train, but let it trail behind you. If the Queen 
asks you why you are so careless, tell her you 
have far finer clothes at home in your kingdom 
of Dogalene ; for this is also a trick the Queen is 
playing on you.” 

The girl promised to do as Prisse told her. 
Soon after the Queen sent for her, and they went 
out into the garden together. With them went 
a crowd of ladies-in-waiting, and they and the 
Queen were all very magnificently dressed, but 
not one of them was as finely clad as the girl. 
The grass was wet with dew, and as they walked 
the ladies lifted their skirts to save them from 
being spoiled, and the Queen did also. Only 
the girl let her skirt hang and her train trail 
behind her and she never stirred a finger to lift it. 
282 


ADAPTED FROM A DANISH STORY 


Then the old Queen said to her, “ Why do you 
not lift your dress as we do ? ” 

The girl answered indifferently, “What does 
it matter ? I have far finer robes at home in 
my Castle in Dogalene. This one is hardly 
worth the trouble of saving.” 

When the old Queen heard this, she doubted 
no longer, but felt assured the girl must certainly 
be a Princess. So the Prince and the peasant 
were married without further delay, and after 
that they lived together very happily, for they 
loved each other dearly. 

Now one day, not so very long after they were 
married, the Princess (for the girl was really a 
Princess now, because a Prince had married her) 
sat at a window looking out, and there she saw 
a strange sight. Over the top of a hill came her 
mother, panting and out of breath, but taking 
steps a yard long and still holding tight to the 
porridge pot. Down the hill she ran and across 
a field, and then over another hill and out of 
sight. And a moment after her old peasant 
husband came over the top of the hill in pursuit 
of her; in his hand he brandished the ladle, and 
he shouted and called to her to stop, and he was 
283 


THE CASTLE ON GOLDEN PILLARS 


hoarse with shouting. Down the hill he ran 
and across the field and over the top of the next 
hill after her. 

That was a funny sight. The Princess burst 
out laughing. 

The Prince was in the room with her, and at 
once he asked, “What are you laughing at, my 
own dear Princess ? ” 

The girl was frightened. She did not dare 
to tell him she had just seen her mother running 
across the fields with a porridge pot, and her 
father pursuing her with a ladle, so she made 
up a story to tell him. 

“I cannot but laugh,” said she, “when I think 
that here I am, living proudly in a castle that has 
only stone pillars to support it, and at home, 
in my own kingdom of Dogalene, my castle 
stands on pillars of solid gold.” 

When the Prince heard this he was provoked. 
“It seems to me,” said he, “that you think 
everything in the kingdom of Dogalene is better 
than anything we have here. I would like to 
see a kingdom as wonderful as you think that 
is. To-morrow we will set out to visit it, and 
then I can myself judge of its wonders.” 

284 


ADAPTED FROM A DANISH STORY 


When the girl heard this she did not know 
what to do. She was terrified to death. As 
soon as the Prince left her she sent for Prisse, and 
told him what the Prince had said. “He is 
determined to go and see my kingdom/’ said 
she, “and I do not know what to do, for 
you well know I have no kingdom to show 
him.” 

“Do not let that trouble you,” said the little 
dog. “Set out with the Prince to-morrow as 
he wishes; I will run on ahead and arrange 
matters so that all will turn out to your advan¬ 
tage. Indeed, the sooner you make this journey 
the better for all of us.” 

When the Princess heard this she felt easier, 
and the next day she was quite willing to set 
out with the Prince as he desired. 

The journey was made in great state. The 
Prince and Princess rode in a golden chariot 
drawn by six white horses, and a great train of 
attendants followed them. But Prisse ran ahead 
to arrange matters as he had promised. 

The little dog ran on for a long time, and 
after a while he came to a kingdom other than 
that of the Prince. There, on either side of the 
285 


THE CASTLE ON GOLDEN PILLARS 


road, stretched great fields of grain, and the 
reapers were busy reaping it. The little dog 
stopped and spoke to them. 

“Listen!” said Prisse to them. “ Presently a 
grand coach will come by this way with a Prince 
and Princess riding in it. If the Prince should 
stop and ask you to whom these fields belong 
you must answer, ‘To the young Princess of 
Dogalene who rides there beside thee so proudly.’ 
If you say this, I will return shortly and give 
you a bag of gold money; but if you fail to say 
it, then when I come back I will tear you to 
pieces.” 

Prisse bristled up and looked so fierce when 
he said this that the reapers were frightened 
and promised to do as he bade them. Then 
the little dog hurried on and presently was lost 
to sight around a turn in the road. 

Not long after he had gone, along came the 
Prince and Princess, riding grandly in their 
golden coach. The Prince looked to the right 
and looked to the left, and he was amazed at 
the size and richness of the fields of grain. 
“My dear,” said he to the Princess, “never have 
I seen finer crops than these are. I wonder to 
286 


ADAPTED FROM A DANISH STORY 


whom they belong! ” He stopped the coach 
and called to the reapers asking who was the 
owner of the fields. 

Then the reapers answered, as Prisse had 
instructed them, “To the young Princess of 
Dogalene, who rides there beside thee so 
proudly.” 

The Prince was very much surprised at this. 
“Why did you not tell me these fields were 
yours ? ” he asked of the girl beside him. 

“Oh, I own so many fields I cannot remember 
them all,” she answered indifferently. 

Meanwhile Prisse was running along the 
road far, far ahead of them; at least a mile 
ahead so that they could not possibly see him. 
Presently he came to a place where shepherds 
were tending vast herds of sheep. The little 
dog stopped and §poke to the shepherds as he 
had to the reapers. “Before long,” said he, “a 
fine coach will come by this way, with a Prince 
and Princess riding in it. If the Prince should 
stop and ask to whom the herds belong, you must 
answer, ‘To the young Princess of Dogalene who 
rides there beside thee so proudly.’ If you do 
this I will come again to-morrow and bring you 
287 


THE CASTLE ON GOLDEN PILLARS 


a bag of gold to divide amongst you, but if 
you do not, I will return and tear you to pieces. ,, 

The shepherds were frightened when they 
heard this threat, even as the reapers had been, 
and promised to do exactly as Prisse bade them. 
Then he left them and hastened on again. By 
the time the Prince and Princess arrived at the 
place Prisse was again miles ahead and out of 
sight. 

The Prince was looking this side and that, 
admiring the country, and when he saw the sheep 
he said to his bride, “Look, my dear! Never 
have I seen finer animals than those are, nor 
larger flocks. I wonder who is the owner ! ” He 
stopped the coach and called to the shepherds 
to ask whose were the flocks they were tending. 

Then the shepherds answered as they had been 
told, “To the young Princess of Dogalene, who 
rides there beside thee so proudly.” 

The Prince Was more surprised than ever. 
“Why did you not tell me they were yours?” 
he asked of the girl. 

“Oh, I cannot remember all the flocks I 
own,” she answered carelessly. 

Meanwhile Prisse, far ahead, had come to 
288 


ADAPTED FROM A DANISH STORY 


where a number of herdsmen were guarding 
great herds of cattle. To them he said the same 
thing he had said to the reapers and the shep¬ 
herds. If the Prince stopped and asked them 
who owned the herds, they were to say they 
belonged to the Princess. If they did so he 
would return and reward them, but if they did 
not he would tear them to pieces. So when, 
not long afterward, the coach came by that way, 
and the Prince stopped and asked who owned the 
herds, he was answered as before, “To the young 
Princess of Dogalene who rides there beside 
thee so proudly.” 

“My dear wife,” said the Prince, “I begin 
to see what a great and powerful Princess you 
must be ; you own a great many flocks and herds 
and fields, and all of the finest. I am more than 
ever anxious to see your castle.” 

Soon after, night came on, and the young 
couple were weary, so they and their attendants 
stopped at an inn to rest until the next day. 

Prisse, however, neither stopped nor lingered. 
All the night he ran on and on, and toward 
morning he came to a great magnificent palace. 
It was built all of marble and stood on pillars 
289 


THE CASTLE ON GOLDEN PILLARS 


of solid gold, and a Troll lived there. The Troll 
was away from home, and the door was locked, 
but the little dog managed to find a hole through 
which he could creep into the hall. Here every¬ 
thing was very fine and beautifully furnished, 
with velvet hangings and furniture of gold. But 
in one corner lay a great heap of dry bones, and 
beside the bones an unsheathed sword. 

As soon as Prisse was inside the palace he 
turned himself into a loaf of bread and stuck 
himself in the keyhole so that he filled it. 

Not long afterward the Troll came home, and 
he was in a great hurry to get inside, for it was 
almost morning, and if the sun shines on the 
face of a Troll he bursts, and nothing can pre¬ 
vent it. The Troll took out his key and tried 
to put it in the keyhole, and he could not be¬ 
cause the keyhole was filled with bread. 

“Out of the way! Out of the way with 
you ! ” he cried. 

“Yes, but wait a moment — for just one little 
moment,” cried the loaf, “until I tell you how I 
came here. 

First they sowed the grain. 

Then they reaped it.” 

290 


ADAPTED FROM A DANISH STORY 

“Out of the way ! Out of the way ! ” shouted 
the Troll. 

“ Yes, but listen just a moment: 

First they sowed the grain; 

Then they reaped it; 

Then they ground it into flour; 

Then they kneaded it into a loaf.” 

“ Out of the way ! Out of the way, I tell you ! ” 
roared the Troll. 

“Yes, but a moment! Listen but a moment 
longer: 

First they sowed the grain ; 

Then they reaped it; 

Then they ground it into flour; 

Then they kneaded it into a loaf; 

Then they pricked it; 

Then they baked it; 

So it came into being. 

And now quickly! Turn and look behind you, 
for here comes a lovely Princess to put a gold 
crown on your head.” 

(The Princess was the sun, for now it had 
arisen.) 

When the loaf said a Princess was coming 
the Troll was startled and turned and looked 
behind him, and the sun shone on his face, and 
291 


THE CASTLE ON GOLDEN PILLARS 


at once he burst with a frightful noise, and that 
was the end of him. 

But the loaf turned back into the little dog 
Prisse again, and crawled out through the hole 
and took the key and unlocked the door, and 
then he sat down on the steps to wait for the 
Prince and Princess. 

On toward noon here they came, rolling 
merrily along in their golden coach drawn by 
the six white horses. 

The little dog ran down the steps to greet 
them. “Welcome! Welcome to the palace 
of the Princess of Dogalene,” he cried to them. 
He then begged that the Prince would wait 
outside for a short time while the Princess came 
in alone to greet her people. 

To this the Prince agreed. 

Prisse led the Princess through the great 
door into the hall of the palace. Here he 
stopped and turned to her and said, “Dear 
Princess, have I not served you faithfully and 
well ? ” 

“That you have,” answered the Princess. 

“Am I not deserving of a reward ? ” 

“None more so.” 

292 


ADAPTED FROM A DANISH STORY 


“ Promise me that you will grant the favor I 
am about to ask of you.” 

“I promise.” 

“Then take up the sword that lies in the corner 
yonder,” said Prisse, “and cut off my head and 
my tail.” 

The Princess was horror-stricken when she 
heard this. “What are you saying ! ” she cried. 
“ Do I not owe you everything ? Have you not 
been a true and faithful friend to me ? How then 
can I make you such an evil return as that ? ” 

“Very well! ” answered the dog. “If you do 
not do as I say, I shall know you have an un¬ 
grateful heart and are untrue to your spoken 
promise as well.” 

He then began to beg and entreat the Princess 
to do as he asked her, and so piteous was he 
that at last she could refuse no longer. Trem¬ 
bling, she took up the sword and struck with it, 
and the sword was so sharp that with that 
one blow it cut off both the dog’s head and his 
tail. 

But no sooner was this accomplished than 
the dog’s shape vanished, and in its place 
appeared a handsome young Prince in magnifi- 
293 


THE CASTLE ON GOLDEN PILLARS 


cent robes, and with a golden crown upon his 
head. At the same time the dry bones that lay 
in the corner rose up and became a great crowd 
of lords and ladies and attendants. 

The Prince smiled upon the girl and took her 
by the hand. “Dear Princess,” said he, “you 
have broken the enchantment that was laid 
upon me by the wicked ogre. Long ago he 
slew my father and took from me this castle and 
kingdom that should have been mine. He also 
turned me into a little dog and my people 
into dry bones. Then he swore that never 
should the enchantment be broken until a good 
and gentle Princess should come to my castle 
and through love of me should cut off my head 
and my tail. This you have done. The en¬ 
chantment has been broken, and from now on 
you shall be to me as my own sister, and the 
half of my kingdom and all that I have shall be 
yours.” 

The girl’s husband was then sent for, and when 
he entered the castle and saw the magnificence 
of all around him, he no longer wondered that 
his dear bride had boasted of her kingdom and 
her palace. 


294 


ADAPTED FROM A DANISH STORY 


A magnificent feast was prepared and all was 
mirth and rejoicing, and from then on they all 
lived in mutual love and happiness, and the 
Prince who had been enchanted was as a dear 
brother to the girl and her husband. 


29s 


THE TWELVE MONTHS 
A Czech Story 

Marusa’s mother had died when she was 
quite small, and soon after her father had mar¬ 
ried again. The stepmother he brought into 
the house was a cruel and hard-hearted woman. 
She had nothing but harsh words and sometimes 
blows for Marusa. She hated the child because 
she was so good and gentle and pretty, while her 
own daughter was as coarse and as ugly as a 
toad. All the hardest tasks in the house were 
laid on Marusa, but the step-sister, Holena, did 
nothing but take her ease and keep her hands 
soft and white. But in spite of her drudgery, 
Marusa grew fairer and lovelier every day, and 
every day Holena grew uglier. Gladly would 
the stepmother have rid herself of Marusa if 
she had only known how. 

After a while Marusa’s father died, and then 
she was even worse off than ever. 

296 


A CZECH STORY 


One day Holena sat warming herself by the 
fire, and because she had nothing to do but to 
make herself comfortable, she was very dull and 
down-hearted. 

“ What ails you, my pet ? ” asked her mother. 
“Why do you look so sad and sorrowful ? ” 

“Oh, I have been thinking of springtime, 
and wishing I had some violets,” answered 
Holena. “Out in the forest they grow so thickly 
sometimes, I was thinking that perhaps in some 
spot that was warm and sheltered they might 
be blooming already.” 

“That may well be,” said the mother, “and 
I wish you had some, my dear one.” 

“If Marusa wished, I am sure she could find 
some. She has often been out in the forest and 
knows where to seek them. If she were only 
more good natured I am sure she would try to 
get some for me, for I am almost sick with 
longing.” 

The stepmother turned to Marusa. “ Do you 
not hear what your sister is saying ? Have you 
no heart of pity ? Go and see whether you can¬ 
not find her some violets.” 

“Violets!” cried Marusa. “Where could I 
297 


THE TWELVE MONTHS 


find violets in winter, with the ground covered 
with snow, and everything frozen ! ” 

“ Do you dare to argue with me ? ” cried the 
stepmother. “Go as I bid you. If you hunt 
about long enough you are sure to find some, 
and do not dare to return without them, or 
you shall have a sound beating! ” 

She threw open the door and raised her hand 
as though to strike the child. 

Marusa caught up a ragged shawl and 
wrapped it about her and ran out into the snow. 

The stepmother shut the door behind her. 
“ She will not find them,” she muttered, “and if 
she never returns it will be all the better.” 

Marusa wandered on into the forest, weep¬ 
ing. She knew it was impossible that violets 
should be blooming in the dead of winter, and 
yet she dared not return home without them. 
There seemed nothing left for her but to perish 
in the snow. The forest grew deeper and 
deeper, and the air grew colder. Suddenly she 
saw before her a red glow as though from a fire. 
She hastened forward, thinking some charcoal 
burners might have lighted it, and that perhaps 
they would allow her to warm herself beside it. 
298 


A CZECH STORY 


Suddenly she came to an opening in the wood. 
All about it the trees grew in a circle. In the* 
center a great fire blazed up toward the gray 
sky overhead, and around the fire were seated 
the twelve months of the year. They sat on 
twelve seats of carved stone. January’s seat 
was the highest, and in his hand he held a silver 
scepter. On his right hand and on his left sat 
December and February, and all three of these 
months were very old and of a venerable ap¬ 
pearance. 

March, April, and May were much younger. 
May and April were beautiful, but March had 
a wild and blustering look. The three summer 
months were somewhat older than the spring 
ones, and September, October, and November 
were past middle life. 

Marusa approached the circle timidly. “ Kind 
sirs, will you allow me to warm myself at your 
fire ?” she asked ; “I am almost frozen.” 

“Approach, child,” answered January. “You 
may well be frozen with such a sharp wind 
blowing.” 

Marusa drew close to the blaze and held out 
her reddened hands to warm them. 

299 


THE TWELVE MONTHS 


“What are you doing in the forest in this 
sort of weather, and with only a ragged shawl to 
wrap about you ?” asked January. 

“My stepmother sent me out to look for 
violets, and Holena will not let me wear the 
warm cloak my mother left me.” 

“Violets!” cried January. “Surely, child, 
you cannot expect to find violets in midwinter.” 

Marusa’s eyes filled with tears. “No, but I 
am afraid to go home without them, for my step¬ 
mother said she would give me a good beating 
if I did so. Unless I can find in the forest some 
kind person to give me shelter, I fear I shall 
perish.” 

“Brothers, this is a sad case,” said January, 
turning to the others. “Do you not think we 
would do well to help her ? ” 

The other months all nodded gravely. “We 
would do well to help her,” they answered. 

January arose and put his scepter in the hands 
of March. “March, this is your business,” 
he told him. “You are the one to serve her 
in this matter.” 

March also arose and waved the scepter 
about him. At once the snow began to melt. 

300 


A CZECH STORY 


A warm wind breathed through the forest. 
The branches, no longer frozen, became clothed 
with a mist of green, and the ground was covered 
with a carpet of purple flowers. They were 
violets. All the air was filled with the perfume 
of them. 

“Quick ! Quick ! ” cried January to Marusa. 
“They will not last long. Gather them before 
they are gone.” 

Marusa stooped and quickly gathered a great 
bunch of the flowers. Already the air was 
growing colder. A sharp wind withered the 
flowers and sent the snow whirling over them. 
The branches again became frozen and all the 
greenness vanished. But Marusa had her vio¬ 
lets. She thanked the months eagerly, and hid¬ 
ing the flowers under her shawl, she hastened 
home again through the frozen forest. 

When she entered the door the stepmother 
was cooking the dinner and Holena still sat idly 
by the fire. They both looked around at her 
angrily. 

“Back again?” cried the stepmother. “Did 
I not tell you not to dare to return without the 
violets ? ” 


301 


THE TWELVE MONTHS 


“ But I have them,” cried Marusa happily. 

She threw off her shawl and held out the 
flowers to Holena. The whole house was filled 
with the perfume of them. 

Holena snatched them from her. “ Where 
did you find them ? ” she asked. 

“In the forest. The ground was blue with 
them.” 

“Why did you not bring me more ? I suppose 
you were too lazy to pick them.” 

“Here! Get back to your work,” said the 
stepmother. “Already you have wasted the 
whole morning.” 

Marusa set to work while Holena sat by the 
fire playing with the violets, smelling them and 
dividing them into bunches. Not one of them 
was given to Marusa. 

By the next day the violets were withered. 
Holena sat, glum and cross, warming herself 
by the fire. 

“What ails you, my pet? Why are you so 
sad and down-hearted ? ” 

“I have been thinking about strawberries,” 
said Holena. “I long so to have a taste of them 
that I am sick with longing. If Marusa could 
302 


1 


A CZECH STORY 


find violets while it is still midwinter I am sure 
she could find strawberries also, but she is so 
lazy she will not even take the trouble to look 
for them.” 

“ Do you hear what your sister is saying ? ” 
cried the stepmother to Marusa. “Does it 
matter nothing to you how she is feeling ? Why 
do you not go out and try to find some straw¬ 
berries for her ? ” 

“ Strawberries!” cried Marusa with dismay. 
“Oh, dear sister, how could you think of such a 
thing ? How do you imagine strawberries could 
ripen in the snow ? ” 

“Go,” cried the stepmother. “As Holena 
says, if you could find violets in January, there 
is no reason why you cannot find strawberries 
also. Go and do not dare to return without 
them. If you do I will give you a beating you 
will remember.” 

She placed a basket on Marusa’s arm and drove 
her out from the house, barring the door behind 
her. “She will not find them,” she said to her 
daughter ; “ and this time we are well rid of her.” 

“All the same, I would have liked her to bring 
me some berries,” answered Holena. 

303 


THE TWELVE MONTHS 


Marusa wandered on deeper and deeper in 
the forest. Her heart was filled with despair, 
for she was sure it was quite impossible that she 
should find any strawberries. 

Suddenly she saw, shining between the trunks 
of the trees, the red glow of the fire she had seen 
the day before. She hastened forward and soon 
found herself again in the circle of the months. 

“Good sirs,” said Marusa, “will you again 
allow me to warm myself beside your fire ? ” 

The months nodded kindly. “Warm your¬ 
self, my child,” answered January. “But why 
are you here again ? Are you seeking more 
violets ? ” 

“Oh, no,” answered Marusa. “It is straw¬ 
berries I am seeking now. My stepsister longs 
so for the taste of them that she is almost ill 
with longing.” 

“Strawberries!” cried January. “How can 
you expect to find strawberries when the ground 
is covered with snow ? ” 

“I do not expect it,” answered the child, 
“but I am afraid to return home without them; 
I do not know what to do.” 

January arose and placed his scepter in the 
304 


A CZECH STORY 


hands of June. “Brother, this is a matter for 
you,” said he. “I am sure you can help this 
poor child if you are willing.” 

“I will do what I can,” replied June. He 
arose and waved the scepter. 

Once more the snow was gone. It was sum¬ 
mer now. The air was full of the perfume of 
flowers, the songs of birds, and the hum of in¬ 
sects. A warm wind stirred through the green 
leaves overhead. The ground was covered 
with strawberry vines loaded with rich and de¬ 
licious-looking berries. “Quick, child!” cried 
June. “Summer will soon be gone. Winter 
will return. There is no time to waste.” 

Quickly Marusa filled her basket with berries. 
Scarcely had she laid the last handful in the bas¬ 
ket when a cold wind swept through the forest, 
driving a cloud of white flakes before it. The 
leaves were gone from the trees; insects and 
birds alike were silent, and the snow covered over 
the already frozen vines. 

Marusa hid the basket under her shawl, 
thanked the months joyfully, and hurried home 
with the berries. 

She knocked at the door which was still 
305 


THE TWELVE MONTHS 

barred against her, and the stepmother opened 
it. 

“Why have you returned ?” she cried. “Did 
I not tell you not to dare to return without the 
berries ? ” 

“But I have them! Look!” cried Marusa. 
She pushed past her stepmother into the house, 
took the basket out from under her shawl, and 
showed her the fruit. 

Holena snatched the basket from her. “ Here ! 
Give it to me,” she cried. “I knew you could 
find them if you wished. But what a few you 
have brought us! Greedy one! You have 
eaten some of them yourself.” 

It was in vain Marusa assured them that 
not a single berry had she tasted. The step¬ 
mother struck her and drove her away to her 
work. She and her daughter sat down and 
divided the berries between them; not one 
was left. 

The next day Holena appeared more glum 
and downcast than ever. “Heart’s dearest, 
what ails you?” asked the stepmother. “Are 
you ill that you seem so sad and sorrowful ? ” 

“Yes, I am ill,” answered Holena. “I long 
306 


A CZECH STORY 


so for a ripe pear that it seems as though I 
would die if I could not get one.” 

“Do not let that trouble you,” answered the 
mother. “ I will send Marusa out into the forest. 
If she could find violets and ripe strawberries 
she can just as well get some pears for us.” 

“What are you saying!” cried poor Marusa 
with terror. “Who ever heard of gathering ripe 
pears in midwinter. It was only by a miracle 
that I was able to find the violets and straw¬ 
berries. But pears ! — No, No; that is im¬ 
possible.” 

“I know you do not want to go out and look 
for them,” cried the stepmother. “You are too 
lazy! You would rather see your sister perish 
before your eyes. But go! Go, I tell you! 
And do not dare to return without them. If 
you do, I will pound you to a jelly, and you will 
well deserve it.” 

She pushed Marusa from the house and 
barred the door behind her. The poor girl 
ran away into the forest, and the tears that 
fell from her eyes froze on her cheeks, it was 
so cold. 

Before long she found herself back in the 
307 


THE TWELVE MONTHS 


opening in the forest where the months sat in a 
circle around their fire. 

As soon as January saw her he called to her. 
“Come closer to the fire, dear child, and warm 
yourself. What are you seeking this time ? 
Were not your mother and sister satisfied with 
the berries you took them ? ” 

“They were satisfied for a time, but now 
it is pears they desire,” said Marusa. “My 
stepmother has said that if I return without 
them she will beat me to a jelly.” 

January frowned. “Your stepmother and 
her daughter are very wicked women,” said he, 
“and they shall soon reap the reward of their 
wickedness. Meanwhile you shall have the 
pears to carry home to them.” He arose and 
placed his scepter in the hands of September. 
“Brother, will you help this child in her need ? ” 
he asked. 

“Gladly,” answered September. 

He took the scepter and arose and waved it 
about him. And now it was autumn. Overhead 
the leaves were red and gold. The birds were 
silent. Only the voices of crickets sounded 
among the underbrush. The wind had a sharp- 
308 


A CZECH STORY 


ness that told of coming winter. On the edge 
of the open stood a pear tree loaded with great 
golden, luscious pears. 

‘‘Make haste!” cried September. “Shake 
the tree, Marusa.” Marusa shook it. A single 
pear fell. “Shake it again.” Again she shook 
it and again a pear fell. 

“That is enough,” cried January. “Take 
them and hurry home, child. A storm is com¬ 
ing. Make haste lest you be lost in the forest.” 

Indeed already an icy wind had shriveled 
the pears, and had blown the leaves from the 
branches and left them stripped and bare. 

Marusa thanked the months and hurried 
homeward. When she reached the house her 
stepmother and her stepsister were standing at 
the window watching for her. The mother 
threw the door open when she saw the child 
coming. 

“ Did you get the pears ? ” she called to her. 

“Yes, I have them,” answered Marusa. She 
came into the house and closed the door behind 
her. From under her shawl she took the pears 
and held them out to Holena. The stepsister 
snatched them from her, and sank her teeth in 
309 


THE TWELVE MONTHS 


the larger and finer one. Never had she tasted 
anything so delicious. The stepmother took 
the other and ate it. 

“Where are the rest?” Holena demanded of 
Marusa. 

“Those were all I was allowed to gather.” 

“Do you think I believe that ? You ate the 
others on the way home. I know that perfectly 
well, and you deserve to be beaten for it.” 

“Indeed, indeed, I did not eat any. I shook 
the tree once, and one pear fell. I shook it a 
second time, and a second one dropped, and after 
that I was not allowed to shake it any more.” 

“You may be sure I would have shaken it 
until the pears fell like hailstones,” cried Holena, 
“but you are such a fool.” 

“ Be off to your kitchen,” said the stepmother 
harshly, and she gave Marusa a push that sent 
her stumbling. 

“Mother, give me my fur coat and my warm 
hood,” said Holena. “I am going to look for 
the pear tree.” 

“Oh, no, my dear one. Look! a snowstorm 
is coming. You will be lost in the forest and 
frozen.” 


310 


A CZECH STORY 


Holena would not listen to her. “I must and 
will have some more pears. If we sent Marusa 
to get them she would eat them herself on her 
way home/’ She tied on her hood and fastened 
her coat about her. Then she ran out into the 
snow. Her mother watched her from the 
window. There was no pathway through the 
forest— not even a foot-mark. 

Holena wandered on and on, and in spite of 
her fur coat she grew colder and colder. After 
a long time she saw the light of a fire shining 
through the trees in front of her. She hastened 
toward it, and came to the open place in the 
forest where the months sat around the fire. 

Holena stared at them without taking the 
trouble to speak; she did not even say good-day 
to them, but walked over to the fire and began 
to warm herself. 

The months frowned and looked at each other 
and shook their heads disapprovingly. Then 
January spoke: 

“What are you seeking here in the forest? 
Who are you, and whence come you ? ” he 
asked. 

“That is none of your business,” answered 


THE TWELVE MONTHS 


Holena rudely. “I am who I am; I seek what 
I want, and as to where I come from that is also 
my own business, but you must all be fools to 
be sitting here around the fire instead of in 
your own houses.” 

She stood close to the blaze until she was 
warmed through. Then without so much as a 
“ Thank you ’ 9 or “Good day to you” she left the 
fire and wandered on again into the forest in 
search of the pear tree. 

January frowned. He rose and waved his 
scepter in the air. At once the sky darkened. 
The wind blew colder, and the air was full of 
swirling snowflakes. The flakes fell so fast 
they blinded Holena. She could no longer see 
where she was going. She tripped over hidden 
rocks and ran into tree trunks. She cursed 
Marusa, as though it were her fault. She even 
cursed Heaven. Her footsteps grew slower and 
feebler. She tripped more often and at last 
fell and lay where she was while the snowflakes 
covered her over. 

Her mother at home watched for her anxiously. 
Then as the sky darkened and the snow fell 
faster she put on her own fur coat, wrapped her 
312 


A CZECH STORY 

head in a shawl, and started out in search of her 
daughter. 

Marusa, left alone in the house, cooked the 
dinner and set the table. Then she went to the 
window and looked to see if any one were coming. 
There was no one. She waited a long time, and 
then she ate her own dinner. All afternoon she 
watched for them. She cooked the supper, but 
no one came to eat it. The next day passed, 
and the day after that and many days after¬ 
ward, but the stepmother and Holena never 
again returned from the forest. 

At first Marusa grieved for them and wept 
at the thought of how they must have been lost 
and frozen in the forest. “If they had only 
found those good kind months, they certainly 
would have helped them,” she said to herself. 
But in time she ceased grieving. Now she 
could live in peace with no one to scold or ill- 
treat her. The house and all that was in it, 
the plow-land, and a cow, were all hers. There 
was no one else to claim them. 

The older she grew, the sweeter and lovelier 
she became. After a while a young man came 
to court her. He was young and handsome 
313 


THE TWELVE MONTHS 


and rich and good-tempered, and Marusa soon 
learned to love him dearly. Then they were 
married, and Marusa took her cow and went to 
live at his farm which was much larger and finer 
than her own little plot. In time children came 
to bless their home. Sometimes the children 
wandered deep into the forest in their play, but 
never did any of them, or Marusa either, see 
the kindly months who had helped her in her 
time of trouble. But Marusa never ceased to 
remember them and to feel grateful for their 
kindness. 


3H 


BOOKS BY 
KATHARINE PYLE 


THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL 

A book of Kris Kringle and the wonder country. 

“A really delightful Christmas book, teeming with marvel¬ 
ous adventures. ” — The Outlook. 

AS THE GOOSE FLIES 

“A story of a little girl who visits Mother Goose and fairy¬ 
land on the back of a great white gander.”— Public Opinion. 

NANCY RUTLEDGE 

“Nancy is a dear little maid, and the story of how she 
moved to town and all the things she did there is told with 
charming simplicity. ”— Chicago Record-Herald. 

IN THE GREEN FOREST 

The Adventures of the fairy, Red Cap. 

“This story is full of pretty, delicate fancies, pleasingly told 
with the right spirit of fairy magic and mystery. ’ * 

—Philadelphia Telegraph. 

WONDER TALES RETOLD 

“A collection of eighteen beautiful folk stories from many 
countries. A treasure trove for children (10 to 15) and 
story tellers. ’*— Wisconsin Library Bulletin. 

TALES OF FOLK AND FAIRIES 

Fairy Stories for children from the folk-lore of the old 
worlds across the seas. 

TALES OF WONDER AND MAGIC 

Fifteen old-world fairy tales, taken from the folk-lore of a 
dozen different lands. 


LITTLE, BROWN & CO., Publishers 

34 Beacon Street, Boston 


























































































































































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